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Cabinet 


The  Assassination  and 
History  of  the  Con- 
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MEMORIAL 

the  Class  of  1901 

founded  by 

HARLAN  HOYT  HORNER 

and 

HENRIETTA  CALHOUN  HORNER 


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THE  OFFICIAL  WAR  MAPI    THE  STANDARD  HISTORY! 

Kew  Edition;  Complete  to  June  1,  1865. 

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..f 


_  \ 


THE 


ASSASSINATION 


AND  HISTORY  OF 


THE   CONSPIRACY, 


A  complete  digest  of  the  whole  affair  from  its  inception 
to  its  culmination,  Sketches  of  the  principal  Char- 
acters,  Reports  of  the  Obsequies,  etc. 


FULLY    ILLUSTRATED. 


CINCINNATI: 

J.  R.  Hawley  &  Co.,   164  Vine  Street. 

1865. 


Efitered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1866, 

By    J.    B.    HAWLBT    &    CO., 

In  the  Oerk'B  OflBce  of  the  District  Ck)urt  of  the  United  States  for  the  Southern  District  of  Ohio. 


/x 


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CONTENTS 


oj»:o 


X. 
Sketch   of  the   Life   of  Abraham   Lincoln. 


11. 
About   Secret   Organizations    Connected   with    the    Con- 
spiracy,  and   their  Influences. 

III. 
History  of  the   Conspiracy — the  Plot  and  Deeds. 

I"V. 
The   Assassins — their  Pursuit  and   Capture. 

•V. 

Sketches  of  the   leading   Conspirators. 

Obsequies — the    Funeral     Cortege     from    City    to    City 
and  final   ceremonies   at  Springfield. 

'VII. 
Incidents  and  Reminiscences. 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


oj*;o 


I.  The  Assassination   of   President  Lincoln. 
TI.  The   Attempt   on    Secretary    Seward. 

III.  Portrait   of    John   Wilkes   Booth. 

IV.  Capture   and  Death   of   Booth. 
V.  Portrait   of  Boston    Corbett. 


PEEFACE. 


The  poignant  grief  and  universal  deeply  seated 
sorrow  of  those  who  knew  Abraham  Lincoln  best 
and  loved  him  most — the  native  and  adopted 
masses  of  our  re-born  republic — are  not  restricted 
to  the  millions  who,  by  his  wise  policy  and  stern 
adherence  to  the  right,  may  yet  say  to  the  down 
trodden  of  other  lands.  "Come  as  your  brothers 
have  come,  our  glorious  Union  is  again  intact, 
an  asylum   for  the   oppressed." 

The  dire  calamity  that  has  enshrouded  our 
land  with  the  ebony  mantle  of  darkness  is  not 
ours  alone.  It  is  world  wide.  The  mighty  na- 
tions of  Europe  stand  aghast  at  the  dreadful 
deed. 

Brittania's  royal  widow  sympathizes  with  her 
Cv) 


VI  PREFACE. 

afflicted  sister  of  Columbia.  The  Lion  tames  on 
beholding  the  agony  of  the  bird  of  Jove.  Gallia 
reverts  to  her  Reign  of  Terror,  and  wonders 
whether  rivers  of  blood  will  flow  in  America  as 
in  her  days  of  Robespeirre.  "Not  so,  Nephew  of 
your  Uncle."  The  mantle  of  Elijah  has  fallen 
upon  Elisha ;  Columbia  has  an  abiding  faith  in 
her  Johnson. 

Classic  Italia  drops  her  chisel  at  the  unfin- 
ished statue;  the  pencil  refuses  its  office  at  the 
canvas.  Our  Hosmer  and  Powers  cease  for  awhile, 
and  mentally  ask  "who  shall  bring  forth  from 
the  marble  the  semblance  of  the  noblest  work  of 
God — a  Good   Man? 

Lands  of  Kosciusko  and  Kossuth !  weep,  as  well 
you  may,  for  the  martyred  statesman,  but  de- 
spair not.  Wait  a  little  longer  and  all  will  be 
well  for  the  cause  of  freedom.  Dire  calamities 
to  nations  bring  forth  heroic  vindicators  of  the 
right,  as  did  the  dark  spirits  of  slavery,  and 
treason  accursed,  call  to  the  helm  of  State  that 
man  who  lived  to  witness  the  eradication  of  both 
those   blasting   influences   from    the   land  which  he 


PREFACE.  y:^ 

has  honored  no  less  than  her  people  now,  and 
will  for   all   time,    honor   his   memory. 

Thanks  to  her  noble  Emperor,  Russia's  Bear 
has  ceased  his  growl  over  serfdom,  and  the  im- 
mortal edict  of  our  Lincoln  unrivets  the  shackles 
of  four  millions  of  men  now — hitherto  slaves. 
Well  may  they  chant  their  homely  but  joyous 
ditty.  "JN'ow  has  the  Kingdom  come,  in  the  year 
of  Jubile3."  Terrible  as  has  been  the  ordeal 
through  which  the  nation  has  passed,  there  re- 
mains tb3  proud  boast  that  she  faltered  not  in 
her  firm  determination  to  sustain  her  position  as 
the  Land  of  Freedom,  the  home  of  the  opjDressed. 
Nay,  more,  her  grandeur  and  power  are  now  far 
greater  than  when  the  rebellious  crew  developed 
their  hell-born  schemes  for  which  they  now  stand 
accursed   of  God   and    man. 

The  rainbow  of  promise  dissipates  the  cloud  of 
doubt  as  to  the  perpetuity  of  the  Republic  and 
all  \yill   soon  be   well. 

The  mighty  drama  is  about  to  close.  Four 
acts,  of  a  year  each,  have  been  witnessed  by  an 
agonized  audience  of  wailing  widows  and  orphans. 


VIU  PREFACE. 


The  curtain  will  soon  fall  on  the  fifth.  Vindica- 
ted justice,  retribution  and  expiation  of  the  atro- 
cious deeds  of  traitors  upon  the  gallows  will  be 
the  fitting  denouement  of  that  tragedy  to  which 
generations  unborn  will  turn  with  mingled  feel- 
ings  of  wonder    and   horror. 

Historians     of   futurity    will   be   at    fault    as   to 
upon  whom   of  the  two   actors   shall   fall    the   ful- 
lest execration   of  all    men — the  bloodstained    As- 
sassin   of   the   tragedy,    or  the   pusillanimous,   un 
sexed  buffoon   of    the  farce  just  enacted. 

Such  as  the  above  were  our  first  thoughts.  To 
speak  or  write  calmly  now  is  a  heavy  task.  The 
pulpit  andthe  rostrum  have  called  forth  the  talent 
of  the  nation,  but  the  theme  is  too  great.  Our 
Clay,   Webster  and   Everett   are   no   more. 

We  close  our  brief  preface  with  a  few  remarks 
suggested  in   our   calmer   moments. 


Among  the  declarations  of  John  Felton,  ,  who 
assassinated  the  Duke  of  Buckingham,  circum- 
stances gave  prominence  to  this :  "  There  is  no 
alliance   nearer  to   any   one   than   his    country." 


PREFACE.  ii 

Every  assassin  of  public  men,  and  every  rebel 
against  the  laws  of  his  country,  has  probably 
persuaded  himself  that  he  was  actuated  by  noble 
motives,  and  therefore  anxious  to  blazon  his  spu- 
rious patriotism  on  the  historic  page.  Under  our 
institutions,  true  patriotism  recognizes  "the  coun- 
try "  in  its  faithful  and  trustworthy  representa- 
tive, and  the  good  President  of  the  United  States 
always  becomes  the  object  of  unbounded  endear- 
ment to  the  American  people,  with  small  regard 
to  ordinary  political  bias  on  the  part  of  any. 
When  a  man  has  carried  our  loved  country 
through  its  sorest  trials  and  greatest  afflictions, 
he  should  find  his  reward  in  the  country's  deep- 
est love;  and  if  a  deeper  love  exists  than  that 
with  which  loyal  men  to-day  cherish  the  memory 
of  the  martyr  President,  its  manifestations  are 
unknown. 

Abkaham  Lincoln  was  justly  called  the  good 
President.  From  the  first,  he  dared  to  do  right, 
even  contrary  to  great  prejudice  on  the  part  of 
superficial  judges  ;  and  his  acts,  during  the  stormy 
term   of  his   administration,   have  formed  for  him 


PREFACE. 


a  prouder  monument  than  his  bereaved  people 
can  ever  dedicate  to  his  name.  Blocks  of  gran- 
ite and  marble  shafts  are  not  needed  to  per- 
petuate the  memory  of  the  Christian  statesman 
and  martyred  patriot  in  the  hearts  of  freemen 
everj'^wheref  on  Grod's  footstool ;  and  through  the 
record  of  his  acts  shall  he  evermore  declare  to 
the   world;    "I    still   live." 

"  Charity  for  all,  malice  toward  none,"  was  a 
declaration  of  his  heart.  The  principle  had  marked 
his  life,  give  emphasis  to  his  acts,  and  imbued 
all  his  politics.  That  such  a  man  could  have  a 
personal  enemy  is  incomprehensible,  and  seems 
totally  absurd,  until  explained  as  an  offshoot  of 
the  secession  malady  that  crazed  the  brains  of 
his  murderers,  and  fitted  them,  through  its  in- 
quisitorial tuition,  for  the  blackest  crime ;  and, 
however  matters  may  be  patched,  explained,  apol- 
ogized for  or  generally  befogged,  the  common  sense 
of  the  people  will  force  them  to  view  this  dam- 
ning act  only  as  the  grand  culmination  of  the 
teachings   of  secession. 

The  horrible  fact  of  the  assassination  of  Presi- 
dent Lincoln   needs    slight    comment    here.     The 


PREFACE.  Xi 

people  have  weighed  it  deliberately,  and  are 
calmly  waiting  for  results  that  'shall  complete  its 
expiation.  They  demand  nothing  unreasonable, 
and  feel  that  the  crime  can-  be  measured  by  no 
degree  of  punishment.  Developments  at  this  mo- 
ment in  progress  are  unraveling  the  dark  intri- 
cacies of  the  most  horrible  conspiracy  that  ever 
stained  our  annals,  and  throughout  the  land  the 
fervent  petition  for  justice  ascends  to  God  from 
every  loyal  hamlet.  Whatever  the  sacrifice,  let 
justice  be   done. 

The  mighty  pilot  who  guided  our  nation's  bark 
through  the  perilous  storm  in  safety,  is  cold  in 
his  grave,  and  the  genius  of  liberty  will  ever 
mourn  the  irreparable  loss.  Let  us  profit  by  his 
great  example,  and   strive   to   imitate   his   virtues. 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


SKETCH    OF    HIS    LIFE. 

Abraham  Lincoln  was  born  in  that  part  of  Hardin  county, 
Kentucky,  which  has  since  been  called  Larue.  His  remote 
ancestors  were  from  Berks  county,  Pennsylvania.  They  re- 
moved to  Eockingham  county,  Virginia,  where  Abraham  the 
grandfather  and  Thomas  the  father  of  Mr.  Lincoln  were  born. 
In  1780,  Abraham  Lincoln  settled  in  Kentucky,  which  was  at 
that  time  a  wilderness  filled  with  savages.  His  rude  cabin  was 
distant  two  or  three  miles  from  the  nearest  white  settler.  Life 
in  this  part  of  Kentucky  was  then  in  constant  danger.  The 
settler  carried  his  gun  and  axe  to  the  place  of  his  daily  labor,  the 
one  being  as  necessary  to  his  protection  as  the  other  for  the 
purposes  of  work.  At  night  when  the  family  retired  to  rest. 
the  gun  was  always  placed  within  convenient  access. 

For  four  years,  Abraham  Lincoln  managed  to  escape,  while 

whole  families  in  the  immediate  vicinity  were  murdered  by  the 

Indians.     At  the  end  of  that  period,  while  engaged  one  day  in 

clearing  a  piece  of  land  about  four  miles  from  home,  he  was 

suddenly  attacked   and  killed,  and  his   scalped  remains  were 

found  the  next  morning.     The  blow  fell  heavily  on  his  widow, 

who  was  now  alone  in  the  wilderness  with  her  three  sons  and 

two  daughters,  and  very  little  money  with  which  to  procure  the 
(SI)  2 


/-3I 


22  LIFEAND    MARTYRDOM 

necessities  of  life.  Compelled  by  poverty  to  separate,  all  the 
children  but  Thomas  left  the  county,  the  second  son  re- 
moving to  Indiana,  the  rest  to  other  parts  of  Kentucky. 
Thomas  at  the  age  of  twelve  also  left  home,  but  soon  returned 
to  Kentucky,  and  in  the  year  1806  married  Miss  Nancy  Hanks, 
who  was  a  native  of  Virginia,  so  that  all  of  the  immediate  ances- 
tors of  the  President  were  born  on  Southern  soil.  Mrs.  Lincoln 
could  read  but  not  write,  while  her  husband  could  do  neither, 
except  to  scribble  his  name  in  a  style  which  only  some  of  his  most 
intimate  friends  could  decipher.  Eegretting  his  own  want  of 
culture,  he  fully  appreciated  the  advantages  of  education,  and 
honored  the  superior  learning  of  others.  He  was  noted  for  kind- 
nessof  heart  and  great  industry  and  perseverance.  Mrs.  Lincoln, 
although  possessed  of  no  education,  was  blessed  with  much 
natural  talent,  excellent  judgment  and  good  sense.  These  quali- 
fications, together  with  her  great  piety,  made  her  a  suitable 
partner  for  a  man  of  Thomas  Lincoln's  attributes.  She  was  a 
mother  whose  example  and  teaching  could  not  fail  to  be  of  vast 
benefit  in  the  formation  of  the  characters  of  her  children.  This 
estimable  couple  had  three  children — a  daughter,  a  son  who  died 
in  infancy,  and  Abraham  who  was  born  on  the  12th  of  February, 
1809.  The  sister  attained  the  years  of  womanhood  and  married, 
but  died  without  issue. 

Although  Southern  by  birth  and  residence,  Mr.  Lincoln 
early  became  imbued  with  a  disgust  for  slavery.  In  witnessing 
the  evils  of  the  "  peculiar  institution,"  he  longed  for  freedom 
from  the  disagreeable  effects  of  a  condition  of  society  which  made 
a  poor  white  man  even  more  degraded  than  the  negro.  Enter- 
taining these  sentiments  he  naturally  desired  to  change  his  place 
of  residence.  Early  in  October,  1816,  finding  a  purchaser  for 
his  farm,  he  made  arrangements  for  the  transfer  of  the  property 


OF     ABRAHAM    LINCOLN.  2S 

and  for  his  removal.  Ten  barrels  of  whisky  of  forty  gallons  each 
formed  the  consideration  for  the  sale  of  the  farm,  and  although 
Mr.  Lincoln  was  a  temperate  man,  he  acceded  to  the  terms, 
because  such  transactions  were  common  and  regarded  as  proper. 
The  value  of  the  whisky  was  two  hundred  and  eighty  dollars 
and  twenty  cents  in  money. 

Mr.  Lincoln,  with  the  slight  assistance  little  Abe  could  give 
him,  prepared  a  flat-boat  and  was  soon  floating  down  the  Roll- 
ing Fork  river  with  his  household  goods,  tools  and  the  barrels  of 
whisky  on  his  way  to  Indiana.  After  he  had  left  the  JRolling 
Fork  and  reached  the  Ohio,  his  boat  was  upset  and  all  on  it 
thrown  into  the  river.  With  the  assistance  of  some  men  on  the 
bank,  he  saved  the  boat  and  a  few  tools,  axes  and  three  barrels 
of  whisky.  Starting  once  more,  and  proceeding  to  a  well 
known  ferry  on  the  river,  he  was  guided  into  the  interior  by  a 
resident  of  the  section  of  country  in  which  he  had  landed,  to 
whom  he  gave  his  boat  in  payment  for  his  services.  He  trtiveled 
for  several  days  with  much  difficulty,  most  of  the  time  being  em- 
ployed in  cutting  a  road  through  the  forest  wide  enough  for  a 
team,  and  at  the  end  of  eighteen  miles,  Spencer  county,  Indiana, 
was  reached.  The  site  of  the  new  home  being  determined  upon 
Mr,  Lincoln  returned  to  Kentucky  on  foot,  and  made  prepara- 
tions to  remove  his  family.  In  a  few  days  the  party  bade  fare- 
well to  their  old  home,  Mrs.  Lincoln  and  her  daughter  riding 
one  horse,  the  father  another  and  Abe  a  third.  After  seven 
days' journey  through  an  uninhabited  country,  their  resting  place 
at  night  being  a  blanket,  spread  upon  the  ground,  they  arrived 
at  the  spot  selected  for  their  residence,  and  no  unnecessary  delays 
were  permitted  to  interfere  with  the  immediate  and  successful 
clearing  of  a  site  for  a  cabin.  An  axe  was  placed  in  Abe's  hands, 
and,  with  a  neighbor's  assistance,  in  two  days  Mr.  Lincoln  had  a 


24  LIFE     AND     MARTYRDOM 

house  of  about  eighteen  feet  square.  It  had  only  one  room,  but 
some  slabs  laid  across  logs  overhead  gave  additional  accommo- 
dations, which  were  reached  by  climbing  a  rough  ladder  in  one 
corner.  A  bed,  a  table  and  four  stools  were  then  made  by  the 
two  settlers,  fiither  and  son,  and  the  building  was  ready  for  oc- 
cupancy. The  loft  was  Abe's  bed  room,  and  there,  night  after 
night  for  many  years,  he  who  but  recently  occupied  the  most 
exalted  position  in  the  gift  of  the  American  people,  and  who 
dwelt  in  the  White  House  at  Washington,  surrounded  by  all  the 
comforts  that  wealth  and  power  could  give,  slumbered  with  a 
coarse  blanket  for  his  mattress  and  another  for  his  coverings 
Abe  did  not,  through  the  long  winter,  neglect  his  reading  and 
spelling.  Before  leaving  Kentucky  he  had  attended  school, 
though  for  a  short  time  only.  He  also  practiced  with  the  rifle, 
and  became  a  shot  of  some  note,  much  to  the  delight  of  his  pa- 
rents. 

About  a  year  after  the  fjimily  removed  to  Indiana,  Mrs. 
Lincoln  died.  Abe  felt  the  loss  keenly.  He  had  been  a  dutiful 
son,  and  she  the  most  devoted  of  mothers.  A  young  man,  soon 
after  Mrs.  Lincoln's  death,  offered  to  teach  Abe  writing.  The 
opportunity  was  fraught  with  too  much  benefit  to  be  rejected,  and 
after  a  few  weeks  practice,  under  eye  of  his  instructor  and  also 
out  of  doors  with  a  piece  of  chalk  or  charred  stick,  he  was  able 
to  write  his  name,  and  in  less  than  twelve  months  could  write  a 
letter. 

Mr.  Lincoln  married  during  the  next  year,  Mrs.  Sally  Johnston 
of  Elizabethtown,  Kentucky,  a  widow  lady  with  three  children. 
Between  this  lady  and  Abe  a  strong  attachment  sprung  up.  She 
was  every  way  calculated  to  supply  the  place  made  vacant  by 
the  death  of  Mrs.  Lincoln.  At  the  time  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  second 
marriage,  a  person  named  Crawford  moved  into  the  neighbor- 


OP    ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


n 


hood  and  opened  a  school  to  which  Abe  was  sent.  At  this  school 
he  improved  very  much  in  reading  and  writing,  and  mastered 
arithmetic.  "  His  school-garb  comprised  a  suit  of  dressed  buck- 
skin and  a  cap  made  from  a  raccoon  skin."  He  took  an  unusual 
pride  in  his  studies,  and  close  application  and  a  retentive  memory 
made  him  a  favorite  scholar  with  this  teacher.  He  was  employed 
by  the  most  ignorant  settlers  as  their  scribe  whenever  they  had 
letters  to  write.  A  brief  period  at  this  school,  and,  to  use  a  com- 
mon phrase,  his  education  was  finished.  Six  months  of  instruc- 
tion within  the  walls  of  an  insignificant  schoolhouse  is  all  the 
education  that  Abraham  Lincoln  has  received  during  a  long  life- 
time. 

For  four  or  five  years  after  leaving  school,  or  until  he  was 
eighteen,  he  constantly  labored  in  the  woods  with  his  axe,  cutting 
down  trees  and  splitting  rails,  and  during  the  evening,  read  such 
works  as  he  could  obtain  among  the  settlers.  A  year  after,  he  was 
hired,  by  a  man  living  near,  at  ten  dollars  a  month,  to  go  to  New 
Orleans  on  a  flat-boat,  loaded  with  stores,  which  were  destined 
for  sale  at  the  plantations  on  the  Mississippi  river,  near  the  Cre- 
scent city,  and  with  but  one  companion,  started  on  this  rather 
dangerous  journey.  At  night  they  tied  up  alongside  of  the  bank 
and  rested  upon  the  hard  deck,  with  a  blanket  for  a  covering, 
and  during  the  hours  of  light  whether  their  lonely  trip  was 
cheered  by  a  bright  sun,  or  made  disagreeable  in  the  extremely 
violent  storms,  their  craft  floated  down  the  stream,  its  helmsmen 
never  for  a  moment  losing  their  spirits,  or  regretting  their  accep- 
tance of  the  positions  they  occupied.  Nothing  occurred  to  mar 
the  success  of  the  trip,  nor  the  excitement  naturally  incident  to 
a  flat-boat  expedition  of  some  eighteen  hundred  miles,  save  a 
midnight  attack  by  a  party  of  negroes,  who,  after  a  severe  con- 


26  LIFEAND    MARTYRDOM 

flict,  were  whipped  by  Abe  and  his  comrade,  and  compelled  to 
flee.  After  selling  their  goods  at  a  handsome  profit,  the  young 
merchants  returned  to  Indiana. 

Mr.  Lincoln  removed  to  Illinois  in  1830,  carrying  their  house-' 
hold  articles  thither  in  large  wagons  drawn  by  oxen,  Abe  being 
the  driver  of  one  team.     In  two  weeks   they  reached   Decatur, 
Macon  County,  Illinois,  near   the   center   of  the    State,    and  in 
another  day,  were  on  a  tract  of  land  of  ten  aci'cs,  on  the  north 
side  of  the  Sangamon  river,   about   ten  miles  west  of  Decatur. 
Immediately  after  their  arrival,   a  log  cabin   was   erected,   and 
Abe  commenced  to  split  the  rails  for  the  fence,  with   which  the 
place  was  to  be  enclosed.     As  a  rail  splitter,   a  tiller  of  the  soil, 
or  a  huntsman,  to  whose  great  accuracy  of  aim  the  family  depen- 
ded in  a  great  measure,  for  their  daily  food,  young  Abraham 
Lincoln  was  active,  earnest  and  laborious,   and   when  in  the  fol- 
lowing spring,  he  made  known  his  intention  to  leave  his   home, 
to  seek  his  fortune  among  strangers,   the  tidings  were   received 
by  his  parents  and  friends  with  the  most  profound  sorrow.    Pack- 
ing up  his  clothing,  he  started  westward,  and  engaged  to  work  on 
a  farm  in  Menard  county.     Here  he  remained  during   the  sum- 
mer and  winter,  at  the  same  time  improving  himself  in  reading, 
writing,  grammar  and  arithmetic.    Early  in  the  following  spring 
he  was  hired  bj'^  a  man  named  Offutt,  to  assist  in  taking  a  flat- 
boat  to  New  Orleans,  and  as  it  was  found  impossible  to  purchase 
a  suitable  boat,  Abe  lent  a  willing  and  industrious  hand  in  build- 
ing one  at  Sagamon,  from  whence,  when  completed,  it  was  float- 
ed  into   the   Mississippi   river.     The   trip   was  made,    and  his 
employer  was  so  much  gratified   with  the  industry  and  tact  of 
his  hired  hand,  that  he  engaged  him  to  take  charge  of  his  mill 
and  store  in  the  village  of  New  Salem.     In  this  position,  Honest 


OF     ABRAHAM     LINCOLN.  2T 

Abe  as  he  was  now  called,  won  the  respect  an(t  confidence  of  all 
with  whom  he  had  business  dealings,  while  socially,  he  was  much 
beloved  by  the  residents,  young  and  old,  of  the  place. 

The  Black  Hawk  war  broke  out  in  the  early  part  of  the  fol- 
lowing 3'ear,  and  the  governor  of  Illinois  calling  for  troops,  Abe 
offered  his  services.  He  placed  his  name  first  on  the  roll  at  the 
recruiting  station  in  New  Salem,  and  by  his  influence  induced 
many  of  his  friends  and  companions  to  do  likewise.  A  company 
was  soon  formed,  and  Abe  was  unanimously  elected  captain. 
The  company  marched  to  Bardstown,  and  from  there  to  the  seat 
of  war;  but  during  their  term  of  enlistment — thirty  days — were 
not  called  into  active  service.  A  new  levy  was  then  called  for 
and  he  enlisted  as  a  private,  and  at  the  end  of  thirty  days  re- 
enlisted,  and  remained  with  his  regiment  until  the  end  of  the  war. 

Soon  after  his  return  from  this  campaign,  he  was  waited  upon 
by  several  of  the  influential  citizens  of  New  Salem,  who  asked  him 
his  consent  to  nominate  him  for  the  Legislature.  He  had  been 
a  resident  of  the  county  only  nine  months  but  as  a  thorough- 
going "  Henry  Clay  man"  was  needed,  he  was  deemed  the  most 
suitable  person  to  run.  There  were  eight  aspirants  for  the  legis- 
tive  position,  but  although  he  received  tivo  hundred  and  seventy- 
seven  votes  out  of  txoo  hundred  and  eighty -four  cast  in  New  Salem 
he  was  not  elected,  the  successful  candidate  leading  by  a  few 
votes,  having  received  a  heavy  vote  in  the  country. 

He  engaged  in  the  mercantile  business  soon  after  his  defeat, 
but  in  a  few  months  sold  out,  and  under  the  tuition  of  John  Cal- 
houn— in  later  years  connected  with  the  Lecompton  Convention 
— became  proficient  in  surveying,  an  occupation  which  for  more 
than  a  year  he  found  very  remunerative  for  a  novice.  He  was 
for  a  time  post-master  at  New  Salem. 


28.  LIFEANDMARTTRDOM 

In  August,  1834,  he  was  elected  to  the  Legislature,  and  in 
1836,  1838  and  18-10  was  re-elected.  He  determined  to  become  a 
lawyer  while  attending  the  first  session  of  the  Legislature  to 
which  he  was  elected,  and  being  placed  in  possession  of  the 
necessary  books,  through  the  kindness  of  Hon.  John  T.  Stuart, 
applied  himself  to  study,  and  in  1836  was  admitted  to  practice  at 
the  bar.  He  became  a  partner  of  Mr.  Stuart  at  Springfield  in 
1837. 

In  March,  1837,  a  protest  was  presented  to  the  House  of  Rep- 
resentatives of  Illinois,  and  signed  by  Daniel  Stone  and  Abraham. 
Lincoln,  Representatives  from  Sangamon  county.  This  is  the 
first  record  that  we  have  of  the  sentiments  of  Mr.  Lincoln  on 
the  slavery  question.  It  was  in  opposition  to  a  series  of  resolu- 
tions which  had  been  adopted,  taking  an  extreme  Southern  view 
of  slavery,  for  which  Mr.  Lincoln  refused  to  vote,  and  subse- 
quently handed  in  the  protest. 

Mr.  Lincoln  was  a  Whig  candidate  for  Presidential  elector  in 
every  campaign  from  1836  to  1852,  and  in  1844  he  stumped  the 
entire  State  of  Illinois  for  Henry  Clay,  and  going  into  Indiana 
spoke  daily  to  large  gatherings,  until  the  day  of  the  election. 
His  style  of  speaking  was  pleasing  to  the  masses  of  the  people, 
and  his  earnest  appeals  were  not  only  well  received,  but  were 
productive  of  much  benefit  to  his  favorite  candidate.  He  was  ac- 
customed, from  early  childhood,  to  the  habits  and  peculiarities  of 
all  kinds  of  people,  and  he  knew  exactly  what  particular  style 
of  language  best  suited  his  hearers,  and  the  result  was  that  he 
was  always  listened  to  with  a  degree  of  attention  and  interest 
which  few  political  speakers  received. 

Mr,  Lincoln  was  elected  to  Congress  from  the  central  district 
of  lUiiimfi  in  1846,  by  a  majority  of  over  1500  votes — the  largest 


OT     ABRAHAM    LINCOLN.  29 

ever  given  in  that  district  for  a  candidate  opposed  to  the  Demo- 
cratic party.  Illinois  elected  seven  representatives  that  year 
and  all  were  Democrats  but  Mr.  Lincoln.  In  the  Whig  con- 
vention of  1848,  he  was  an  active  delegate,  and  earnestly  ad- 
vocated the  selection  of  General  Taylor  as  the  nominee  for 
the  Presidency. 

He  was  a  candidate  before  the  Legislature  of  Illinois  for  U. 
S.  Senator,  but  his  political  opponents  were  in  the  majority,  and 
General  Shields  was  chosen.  From  that  time  till  1854,  he  con- 
fined himself  to  his  profession.  In  the  latter  year  he  again  en- 
tered the  political  field  and  battled  indefatigably  in  the  celebra- 
ted campaign  which  resulted  in  victory  for  the  first  time  to  the 
opposition  of  the  Democratic  party  in  Illinois.  During  the  can- 
vass Mr.  Lincoln  was  frequently  brought  into  controversy  upon 
the  stand  with  Stephen  A.  Douglas.  One  of  the  discussions 
that  was  held  on  the  fourth  of  October,  1854,  during  the  pro- 
gress of  the  Annual  State  Fair,  being  remarkable  as  the  great 
discussion  of  the  campaign. 

On  the  second  of  June,  1858,  the  Republican  State  Conven- 
tion met  at  Springfield,  and  nominated  Mr.  Lincoln  as  their 
candidate  for  the  United  States  Senate.  The  contest  which 
followed  was  one  of  the  most  exciting  and  remarkable  ever 
witnessed  in  this  country.  Mr.  Douglas  his  opponent,  had 
few  superiors  as  a  political  debater,  and  while  he  had  made 
many  enemies,  by  his  course  upon  the  Nebraska  bill,  his  per- 
sonal popularity  had  been  greatly  incronscd  by  his  indepen- 
dence, and  by  the  opposition  manifested  to  him  by  the  Ad- 
ministration. 

During  the  campaign  Mr.  Lincoln  spoke  thus  of  the  Declara- 
tion of  Independence : 

*'  These  communities,  (the  thirteen  colonies,)  by  their  repre- 


fM  LIFE     AMD     MARTYRDOM 

Bentativcs  in  old  Independence  Hall,  said  to  the  world  of  men, 
'  We  hold  these  truths  to  be  self-evident  that  all  men  are  born 
equal ;  that  they  are  endowed  by  their  Creator  with  inalienable 
rights ;  that  among  these  are  life,  liberty  and  the  pursuit  of 
happiness.'  This  was  their  majestic  interpretation  of  the  econ- 
omy oT  the  universe.  This  was  their  lofty,  wise  and  noble  un- 
derstanding of  the  justice  of  the  Creator  to  His  creatures.  Yes, 
gentlemen,  to  all  His  creatures,  to  the  whole  great  family  of 
man.  In  their  enlightened  belief,  nothing  stamped  with  the 
Divine  image  and  likeness,  was  sent  into  the  world  to  be  trod- 
den on  and  degraded  and  imbruted  by  its  fellows.  They  grasp- 
ed not  only  the  race  of  men  then  living,  but  they  reached  for- 
ward and  seized  upon  the  furthest  posterity.  They  created  a 
beacon  to  guide  their  children,  and  their  children's  children, 
and  the  countless  myriads  who  should  inhabit  the  earth  in  other 
ages.  Wise  statesmen  as  they  were,  they  knew  the  tendency  of 
prosperity  to  breed  tyrants,  and  so  they  established  these  great 
self-evident  truths  that  when  in  the  distant  future  some  man, 
some  faction,  some  interest,  should  set  up  the  doctrine  that  none 
but  rich  men,  or  none  but  white  men,  or  none  but  Anglo-Saxon 
white  men,  were  entitled  to  life,  liberty  and  the  pursuit  of  hap- 
piness their  posterity  might  look  up  again  to  the  Declaration 
of  Independence,  and  take  courage  to  renew  the  battle  which 
their  fathers  began,  so  that  truth  and  justice  and  mercy, 
and  all  the  humane  and  christian  virtues,  might  not  be 
extinguished  from  the  land,  so  that  no  man  would,  here- 
after, dare  to  limit  and  circumscribe  the  great  principles 
on   which   the    temple   of  liberty   was   being   built. 

"  Now,  my  countrymen,  if  you  have  been  taught  doc- 
trines conflicting  with  the  great  landmarks  of  the  Declara- 
tion   of    Independence,  if  you  have    listened   to    suggestions 


OFABRAHAMLINCOLJT.  31 

which  would  take  away  from  its  grandeur,  and  mutilate  the 
fair  symmetry  of  its  proportions,  if  you  have  been  in- 
clined to  believe  that  all  men  are  not  created  equal  iu 
those  inalienable  rights  enumerated  by  our  chart  of  liberty, 
let  me  entreat  you  to  come  back,  return  to  the  fountain 
whose  waters  spring  close  by  the  blood  of  the  Kevolution. 
Think  nothing  of  me,  take  no  thought  for  the  political 
fate  of  any  man  whomsoever,  but  come  back  to  the  truths 
that   are   m   the   Declaration  of  Independence. 

"You  may  do  any  thing  with  me  you  choose,  if  you  will 
but  heed  these  sacred  principles.  You  may  not  only  de- 
feat me  for  the  Senate,  but  you  may  take  me  and  put 
me  to  death.  While  pretending  no  indifference  to  earthly 
honors,  I  do  claim  to  be  actuated  in  this  contest  by  some- 
thing higher  than  an  anxiety  ibr  office.  I  charge  you  to 
drop  every  jDaltry  and  insignificant  thought  for  any  man's 
success.  It  is  nothing,  I  am  nothing.  Judge  Douglas  is 
nothing.  But  do  not  destroy  that  immortal  emblem  of  humanity^ 
the  Declaration  of  American  Independence." 

The  election  day  at  length  arrived,  and  although  the  efforts  of 
Mr.  Lincoln  resulted  in  an  immense  increase  of  Eepublican  votes, 
whatever  aspirations  he  had  for  personal  success  were  frustra- 
ted. A  vote  of  126,08-4  was  cast  for  the  Eepublican  candidates, 
121,940  for  the  Douglas  Democrats  and  5,091  for  the  Lecompton 
candidates,  but  Mr.  Douglas  was  elected  United  States  Senator 
by  the  Legislature,  in  which  his  supporters  had  a  majority  of 
eight  on  joint  ballot. 

On  the  sixteenth  of  May,  1860,  the  Eepublican  National  Con- 
vention assembled  in  Chicago,  for  the  purpose  of  nominating 
candidates  for  the  Presidency  and  Vice-Presidency.  On  the 
third  ballot  Mr.  Lincoln  came  within  one  of  being  nominated. 


32  LIFEANDUA.RTTBDOH 

One  of  the  delegates  then  changed  four  votes  of  his  State,  giving 
them  to  Mr.  Lincoln,  thus  nominating  him. 

On  the  sixth  of  November,  1860,  the  election  for  President 
took  place  with  the  following  result.  Mr.  Lincoln  received 
491,275  votes  over  Mr.  Douglas;  1,018,499  over  Mr.  Breckin- 
ridge and  1,275,821  over  Mr.  Bell;  and  the  vote  was  subsequent- 
ly proclaimed  by  Congress  as  follows : 

For  Abraham  Lincoln,  of  Illinois 180 

For  John  C.  Breckinridge,  of  Kentucky 72 

For  John  Bell,  of  Tennessee 39 

For  Stephen  A.  Douglas,  of  Illinois.. 12 


INCEPTION   OF   THE  PLOT 


A  leading  officer  of  the  Buchanan  Administration  received,  on 
the  first  of  January,  1861,  a  letter  from  a  friend,  a  gentleman  of 
Southern  sympathies  living  in  Baltimore,  in  which  among  other 
things,  it  Avas  stated  that  twelve  thousand  men  were  already  en- 
rolled and  organized  in  that  city,  bound  by  the  most  solemn 
oaths,  to  do  the  bidding  of  their  leaders,  whose  purpose  was  to 
march  them  against  Washington,  capture  it,  and  with  such  re- 
inforcements as  they  could  get  from  the  south,  hold  it,  not  only 
to' prevent  the  inauguration  of  Mr.  Lincoln,  but  in  order  to  make 
it  the  capital  of  the  future  Southern  Republic.  Still  darker 
threats  than  this,  the  letter  stated,  were  whispered  about,  being 
nothing  less  than  the  assassination  of  Mr.  Lincoln  and  Mr.  Ham- 
lin. At  that  time,  it  is  well  known,  bets  were  freely  made  in 
the  streets  of  Washington  that  Mr.  Lincoln  would  never  be  in- 
augurated as  President  of  the  United  States.  These  stories  were 
shortly  after  denied,  but  subsequent  events  j)rove  that  they  have 
some  foundation. 

On  the  11th  of  February,  Mr.  Lincoln  left  his  home  in  Spring- 
field, Illinois,  on  his  way  to  Washington.  A  large  number  of 
people  assembled,  to  pay  him  a  token  of  respect  before  his  depar- 
ture. The  moment  was  a  solemn  one.  The  reports  of  threat- 
ened assassination,  forcible  prevention  of  the  inauguration,  and 
the  like,  had  reached  his  eai'S,  as  well  as  those  of  his  townsmen. 
His  speech  was  short  but  affecting.     He  said : 

(33J  ' 


34  LIFEANDMARTTBDOM 

"  My  friends  :  No  one  in  my  position  can  appreciate  the  sad- 
ness I  feel  al  this  parting.  To  this  people  I  owe  all  that  I  am. 
Here  I  have  lived  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century;  here  my 
children  were  born,  and  here  one  of  them  lies  buried.  I  know 
not  how  I  shall  see  you  again.  A  duty  devolves  upon  me 
which  is  greater,  perhaps,  than  that  which  devolved  upon  any 
other  man  since  the  days  of  Washington.  He  never  would  have 
succeeded  except  for  the  aid  of  Divine  Providence,  upon  which 
he  at  all  times  relied.  I  feel  that  I  cannot  succeed  without  the 
same  Divine  aid  which  sustained  him,  and  on  the  same  Almighty 
Being  I  place  my  reliance  for  supjiort ;  and  I  hope  you,  my 
friends,  will  all  pray  that  I  may  receive  that  Divine  assistance 
without  which  I  cannot  succeed,  but  with  which  success  is  cer- 
tain.    Again  I  bid  you  all  an  affectionate  farewell." 

During  this  speech  Mr.  Lincoln  betrayed  much  emotion,  and 
hundreds  in  the  crowd  were  affected  to  tears ;  cries  of  "  We  will 
pray  for  you,  "  "be  just  and  have  no  fear"  were  heard,  and  a 
feeling  of  deep  solemnity  settled  over  the  whole  assemblage. 

Leaving  Springfield  Mr.  Lincoln  proceeded  by  easy  passages 
to  Indianapolis,  Cincinnati,  Columbus,  Pittsburgh,  Cleveland, 
Buffalo,  Albany  and  New  York.  At  all  these  places  he  was 
warmly  received.  Having  been  welcomed  to  the  city  in  the 
presence  of  the  Common  Council  of  New  York,  by  Mayor  Wood, 
he  replied : 

"Mr.  Mayor; — It  is  with  feelings  of  deep  gratitude  that  I 
make  my  acknowledgment  for  the  reception  which  is  given  me 
in  the  great  commercial  city  of  New  York.  I  cannot  but  remem- 
ber that  this  is  done  by  people  who  do  not  by  a  majority  agree 
with  me  in  political  sentiment.  It  is  more  grateful  because  in 
this  I  see  that  for  the  great  principles  of  our  Grovernment  the 
people  are  nearly  all  or  quite  unanimous.     In  regard  to  the  diflS- 


OFABRAHAMLINCOIiV.  36 

culties  that  confront  ns  at  this  time,  and  of  which  your  Honor 
*has  thought  fit  to  speak  so  becomingly  and  so  justly,  as  I  sup- 
pose, I  can  only  say  that  I  agree  in  the  sentiments  expressed  by 
the  Mayor. 

"  In  my  devotion  I  hope  I  am  behind  no  man  in  the  Union. 
But  as  for  the  wisdom  with  which  to  conduct  the  affairs  tending 
to  the  preservation  of  the  Union,  I  fear  that  too  great  confidence 
may  have  been  reposed  in  me.  I  am  sure  I  bring  a  devoted  heart 
to  the  work.  There  is  nothing  that  could  ever  bring  me  to  con- 
sent, willingly,  to  the  destruction  of  this  Union,  under  which, 
not  only  the  great  commercial  city  of  New  York  but  the  whole 
country  has  acquired  its  greatness,  unless  it  were  to  be  for  that 
thing  for  which  the  Union  itself  was  made.  I  understand  the 
ship  to  be  made  for  the  carrying  of  the  cargo,  and  so  long  as  the 
ship  can  be  sailed  with  the  cargo  it  should  never  be  abandoned. 
This  Union  should  never  bo  abandoned  unless  it  fails,  and  the 
possibility  of  its  preservation  shall  cease  to  exist,  without  throw- 
ing passengers  and  cargo  overboard.  So  long,  then,  as  it  is 
possible  that  the  prosperity  and  liberties  of  this  people  can  be 
preserved  in  the  Union  it  shall  be  my  purpose  at  all  times 
to  preserve  it.  And  now,  Mr.  Mayor,  again  thanking  you 
for  the  reception  which  has  been  given  me,  allow  me  to 
draw  to  a  close." 

During  this  day  (February  20th)  reports  of  the  threatened 
assassination  of  the  President  were  circulated  in  the  streets. 
At  Newark,  N.  J.,  a  handbill  was  circulated,  calling  upon 
unemployed  working-men  to  attend  at  the  depot  on  Mr. 
Lincoln's  arrival  at  that  city,  and  "  demonstrate  their  dif- 
ferences "   with   him. 

A   meeting  was  held  in  the  evening,   and  a  largo  number 
3 


36  LIFEAKDMARTYRDOM 

of  persons  volunteered  for  a  cavalry  escort.  At  Trenton 
a  large  additional  police  force  was  put  on  duty  to  preserve' 
order.  No  disturbance  took  place  however.  Mr.  Lincoln 
arrived  at  Philadelphia  on  the  evening  of  the  2l6t,  and  was 
enthusiastically  received,  as  he  had  been  at  Newark,  Rah  way, 
New  Brunswick,  Princeton,  Trenton,  and  other  points  along 
the  route.  Leaving  Philadelphia  on  the  morning  of  the 
22d,  he  reached  Harrisburgh  in  the  happiest  manner  by  th« 
authorities  and  people  of  the  city.  Here,  for  the  first  time, 
rumors  began  to  avail  of  persons  being  colluded  togetho 
for  some  evil  purpose. 

The  committee  of  arrangements  at  Harrisburg  learninj 
on  creditable  authority,  that  in  all  probability  an  attemp'' 
would  be  made  on  the  President's  life  at  Baltimore,  de 
bated  the  question  of  the  manner  of  his  passage — whether  h] 
should  pass  from  depot  to  depot,  or  go  by  a  route  whicl 
avoided  change  of  cars.  Finally  it  was  arranged  to  leavo 
Harrisburgh  at  6  o'clock  in  the  evening,  arriving  at  Balti- 
more and  Washington  at  hours  different  from  those  hereto- 
fore announced.  Accordingly  Mr.  Lincoln  left  Harrisburgh 
at  the  time  secretly  determined  upon.  The  plan  of  action 
which  was  successfully  carried  out  was  this.  Speeches  and 
receptions  were  to  be  kept  up  all  the  afternoon ;  special 
trains  were  arranged,  the  telegraph  silenced,  and  men  were 
stationed  to  cut  the  wires  if  necessary ;  and  upon  the  arrival 
in  Baltimore,  Mr.  Lincoln  was  to  be  conveyed  through  the 
city  in  a  close  carriage.  The  plan  was  laid  before  Mr.  Lin- 
coln, and  it  is  said  he  indignantly  rejected  it.  Mrs.  Lincoln 
begged  of  him  to  go,  and  Governor  Curtin  and  other  in- 
fluential men  also  entreated  him  to  adojjt  the  plan.     He  was 


OF     ABRAHAM     LINOOLK.  3( 

assured  that  he  would  certainly  be  assassinated  if  ho  fol- 
lowed the  original  jjrogramme ;  and  it  is  said  that  Mrs. 
Lincoln's  tears,  and  the  arguments  of  his  friends  finally 
persuaded  him  to  adopt  the  proposed  course.  He  proceeded 
to  Baltimore  by  a  special  express  train,  passed  through  the 
city  unobserved,  and  reached  Wasbington  at  6  o'clock  on 
the  morning  ofthe  24th.  The  train  containing  Mrs.  Lin- 
coln and  the  rest  of  the  Presidental  party  left  Ilarrisburgh 
at  the  time  publicly  announced.  When  it  reached  Balti- 
more a  vast  crowd  had  assembled  to  meet  it ;  but  it  had 
got  abroad  that  Mr.  Lincoln  had  already  passed  through 
the  city,  and  the  train  was  saluted  with  groans  and  hisses. 
No   violence  was  offered,   however. 

It  is  well  here  to  state,  in  justice  to  the  character  of  our 
murdered  President,  that  the  story  published  in  the  telegraphic 
dispatches  of  the  New  York  Times,  on  the  24th  of  February, 
that  Mr.  Lincoln  passed  from  Harrisburgh  to  "Washington  at- 
tired in  a  "  Scotch  plaid  cap  and  very  long  military  cloak,  so 
that  he  was  entirely  unrecognizable,"  was  utterly  false.  It 
was  made  out  of  whole  cloth  by  a  sensation  reporter  whose 
recent  familiarity  with  Presidential  attributes  is  fresh  in  the 
minds  of  the  public.  Mr.  Lincoln  was  very  much  opposed  to 
any  concealment,  but  his  opinion  was  overborne  by  that  of 
undoubted  personal  and  political  friends.  When  he  did  go, 
howdver,  he  made  no  change  in  hia  costume,  and  no  attempt 
at    concealment. 

The  features  of  the  Baltimore  plot  have  never  been  per- 
fectly made  clear.  Innumerable  rumors  prevailed  at  the  time, 
Bom«  of  them  doubtless  founded  om  fact,  others  simply  absurd. 
On  the  evening  of  the   21st  of  February,  1861,  Secretary  (then 


38  LIFB    AND    UARTTRDOIC 

Senator)  Seward  received  official  intelligence  from  General 
Scott,  that  a  most  diabolical  plot  had  been  successfully  ar- 
ranged on  the  part  of  a  secret  organization  in  Baltimore  to 
assassinate  the  President-elect  on  his  arrival  at  that  city.  Mr. 
Seward  communicated  this  intelligence  to  a  few  private  friends, 
and  it  was  determined  to  despatch  a  message  at  once  ^^ 
Philadelphia  to  inform  Mr.  Lincoln  of  the  fact.  On  being 
told  of  it,  the  intended  victim  replied  that  he  had  heard  the 
same  thing  from  other  sources,  giving  the  Baltimore  chief  of 
police  as  one  authority.  The  plot  was  to  throw  the  Presi- 
dential train  off  the  track  by  a  torpedo  placed  conveniently  to 
some  high  embankment,  or  failing  in  this,  to  mob  and  as- 
sassinate Mr.  Lincoln  on  his  arrival  in  Baltimore,  the  con- 
spirators to  surround  the  depot,  armed  with  knife  or  pistol. 
Ten  or  fifteen  men  were  said  to  have  been  prepared  to  com- 
plete the  work,  and  it  is  reported  that  a  vessel  was  lying  in 
the  harbor  ready  to  convey  the  murderers  to  Mobile.  The 
following  account  is  taken  from  a  souice  every  way  worthy 
of   credit. 

"Some  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  friends  having  heard  that  a  con- 
spiracy existed  to  assassinate  him  on  his  way  to  Washing- 
ton, set  on  foot  an  investigation  of  the  matter.  For  this 
purpose  they  employed  a  detective  of  great  experience,  who 
was  engaged  at  Baltimore  in  the  business  some  three  weeks 
prior  to  Mr.  Lincoln's  expected  arrival  there,  employing 
both  men  and  women  to  assist  him.  Shortly  after  coming 
to  Baltimore  the  detective  discovered  a  combination  of  men 
banded  together  under  a  solemn  oath  to  assassinate  the  Presi- 
dent-elect. The  leader  of  the  conspiracy  was  an  Italian 
refugee,  a  barber,  well-known  in  Baltimore,  who  assumed  th« 


OF     ABRAHAM    LINCOLN.  85 

name  of  Orsini  as  indicative  of  the  part  he  was  to  perform. 
The  assistants  employed  by  the  detective,  who,  like  himself^ 
were  strangers  in  Baltimore  city,  by  assuming  to  be  Seces- 
sionists from  Louisiana  and  other  seceding  States,  gained  the 
confidence  of  some  of  the  conspirators,  and  were  intrusted 
with  their  plans.  It  was  arranged,  in  case  Mr.  Lincoln  should 
pass  safely  over  the  railroad  to  Baltimore,  that  the  conspira- 
tors should  mingle  with  the  crowd  which  might  surround 
his  carriage,  and  by  pretending  to  be  his  friends,  be  en- 
abled to  approach  his  pei'son,  when,  upon  a  signal  from 
their  leader,  some  of  them  would  shoot  at  Mr.  Lincoln 
with  their  pistols,  and  would  throw  into  his  carriage  hand- 
grenades  filled  with  detonating  powder,  similar  to  those 
used  in  the  attempted  assassination  of  the  Emperor  Louie 
Napoleon.  It  was  intended  that  in  the  confhsion  which 
should  result  from  this  attack,  the  assailants  would  escape 
to  a  vessel,  which  was  waiting  in  the  harbor  to  receive 
them,  and  be  carried  to  Mobile,  in  the  seceding  State  of 
Alabama. 

"Upon  Mr.  Lincoln's  arrival  in  Philadelphia,  upon  Thur&- 
day,  the  21st  day  of  February,  a  detective  visited  Phila- 
delphia, and  submitted  to  certain  friends  of  the  President- 
elect the  information  he  had  collected  as  to  the  conspira- 
tors and  their  plans.  An  interview  was  immediately  ar- 
ranged between  Mr.  Lincoln  and  the  detective.  The  in- 
terview took  place  in  Mr.  Lincoln's  room,  in  the  Continen 
tal  Hotel,  where  he  was  staying  during  his  visit  to  Phila' 
delphia. 

"  Mr.   Lincoln,    having    heard    the    officer's    statement,   in 
formed  him   that  he  had  promised    to    raise    the    Americ*: 


40  LIFEAXD    MAKTYKDOM 

flag  on  Independence  Hall  the  next  morning — the  morning 
of  the  anniversary  of  "Washington's  Birthday — and  that  he 
had  accepted  the  invitation  of  the  Pennsylvania  Legisla- 
ture to  be  publicly  received  by  that  body  in  the  after- 
noon of  the  same  day.  '  Both  of  these  engagements,'  said 
he,  with  emphasis,  '  I  will  keep,  if  it  costs  me  my  life. 
If,  however,  after  I  have  concluded  these  engagements,  you 
can  take  me  in  safety  to  Washington,  I  will  place  myself  at 
your  disposal,  and  authorize  you  to  make  such  arrange- 
ments as  you  may  deem  proper  for  that  purpose.' 

"  On  the  next  day  in  the  morning  Mr.  Lincoln  performed 
the  ceremony  of  raising  the  American  flag  on  Independence 
Hall  in  Philadeljphia  according  to  his  promise,  and  arrived  at 
Harrisburg  on  the  afternoon  of  the  same  day,  when  he  was 
formally  welcomed  by  the  Pennsylvania  Legislature.  After 
the  reception  he  retired  to  his  hotel,  the  Jones'  House,  and 
withdrew  with  a  few  confidential  friends  to  a  private  apart- 
mient.  Here  he  remained  until  nearly  six  o'clock  the  next 
morning,  when  in  company  with  Colonel  Lamon,  he  quietly 
entered  a  carriage  without  observation,  and  was  driven  to 
the  Pennsylvania  Railroad,  where  a  sj^ecial  train  for  Phila- 
delphia was  waiting  for  him.  Simultaneously  with  his  de- 
parture from  Harrisburg  the  telegraph  wires  were  cut,  so 
that  his  departure,  if  it  should  become  known,  might  not  be 
communicated  at  a  distance. 

"  The  special  train  arrived  in  Philadelphia  at  a  quai-ter  be- 
fore 11  o'clock  at  night.  Here  he  was  met  by  the  detec- 
tir©  who  had  a  carriage  in  readiness  into  which  the  party 
entered,  and  were  driven  to  the  depot  of  the  Philadelphia 
Wilmington,   and   Baltimore   Railroad. 


OTABRAHAMLIXCOLK.  41 

"They  did  not  reach  the  depot  until  a  quarter  past  11; 
but  fortunately  for  them,  the  regular  train,  the  hour  of 
which  for  starting  was  11,  had  been  delayed.  The  party 
then  took  berths  in  the  sleeping-car,  and  without  change 
of  cars  passed  directly  through  to  Washington,  where  they 
arrived  at  the  usual  hour,  6^  o'clock  on  the  morning  of 
Saturday,  the  23d.  Mr.  Lincoln  wore  no  disguise  whatever, 
but  journeyed    in    an   ordinary   traveling-dress. 

"It  is  proper  to  state  here  that  prior  to  Mr.  Lincoln's 
arrival  in  Philadelphia,  General  Scott  and  Senator  Seward  in 
Washington  had  been  apprised  from  independent  sources  that 
imminent  danger  threatened  Mr.  Lincoln  in  case  he  should 
publicly  pass  through  Baltimore,  and  accordingly  a  special 
messenger,  Mr.  Frederick  W.  Seward,  was  dispatched  to  Phil- 
adelphia to  urge  Mr.  Lincoln  to  come  direct  to  Washington 
in  a  quiet  manner.  The  messenger  arrived  in  Philadelphia 
late  on  Thursday  night,  and  had  an  interview  with  the  Pres- 
ident-elect immediately  subsequent  to  his  interview  with  the 
detective.  He  was  informed  that  Mr.  Lincoln  would  arrive 
by  the  early  train  on  Saturday  morning,  and,  in  accordance 
with  this  information,  Mr.  Washburne,  '  member  of  Congress 
ftom  Illinois,  awaited  the  President-elect  at  the  depot  in  Wash- 
ington, whence  he  was  taken  in  his  carriage  to  his  quarters 
in  Willard's  Hotel,  where  Secretary  Seward  stood  ready  to 
receive    him. 

"  The  detective  traveled  with  Mr.  Lincoln  under  the  name 
of  E.  J.  Allen,  which  name  was  registered  with  the  President 
elect  in  the  book  at  Willard's  Hotel.  Being  a  well-known 
individual,  he  was  speedily  recognized,  and  suspicion  naturally 
arose  that  he  had  been  instrumental  in  exposing  the  plot  which 
caused  Mr.  Lincoln's  hurried  journey.      It   was  deemed  prudent 


42 


LIFE     AND     MARTYRDOM 


that  he  should  leave  Washington  two  days  after  his  arrival, 
although  he  had  intended  to  remain  and  witness  the  ceremon- 
ies   of   inaugeration. 

"  After  the  discovery  of  the  plot,  a  strict  watch  was  kept 
by  the  agents  of  detection  over  the  movements  of  the  con- 
spirators, and  efficient  measures  were  adopted  to  guard  against 
any  attack  which  they  might  meditate  upon  the  President- 
elect  until    he   was   installed  in  office. 

"  Mr.  Lincoln's  family  left  ilarrisburgh  for  Baltimore,  on 
their  way  to  Washington,  in  the  special  train  intended  for 
him ;  and,  as  before  starting,  a  message  announcing  Mr.  Lin- 
coln's departure  and  arrival  at  Washington  had  been  telegraphed 
to  Baltimore  over  wires  which  had  been  repaired  that  morn- 
iag,   the   passage    through    Baltimore   was   safely    effected. 

"  The  remark  of  Mr.  Lincoln  during  the  ceremony  of  rais- 
ing the  flag  on  Independence  Hall  on  Friday  morning,  that 
he  would  assert  his  principles  on  his  inaugeration,  although 
he  were  to  be  assassinated  on  the  spot,  had  evident  reference 
to  the  communication  made  to  him  by  the  detective  on  the 
night   preceding. 

"  The  number  originally  ascertained  to  be  banded  together 
for  the  assassination  of  Mr.  Lincoln  was  twenty,  but  the  num- 
ber ef  those  who  were  fully  apprised  of  the  details  of  the 
plot  became  daily  smaller  as  the  time  for  executing  it  drew 
near. 

"Some  of  the  women  employed  by  the  detective  went  to 
serre  as  waiters,  seamstresses,  etc.,  in  the  families  of  the  con- 
spirators, and  a  record  was  regularly  kept  of  what  was  said 
and  done  to  further  their  enterprise.  A  record  was  also  kept 
by   the  detective  of  their  deliberations  in   secret  conclave.      The 


OFABRAHAMLINCOLSr.  43 

detective  and  his  agents  regularly  contributed  money  to  pay 
the   expenses    of  the   conspiracy." 

Threats  were  made  after  !Mr.  Lincoln's  first  inaugeration. 
It  is  well  known,  that  he  reached  Washington  in  safety,  but 
the  secession  element  vastly  predominated  at  the  Capital,  and 
threats  of  violence  to  the  President-elect  and  to  Mr.  Hamlin^ 
and  of  the  forcible  suspension  of  the  inaugeration,  were  neither 
few  nor  secret.  The  city  was  filled  with  rebels  who  pro- 
claimed their  seentiments  boldly  in  the  streets,  and  hinted 
violence  to  the  Executive.  National  airs  were  hissed  dowa  in 
public  places  of  amusement,  loyal  men  were  assaulted  on  the 
avenue,   and   cheers  for  Jeff.  Davis  were  of   common  oecurrenee. 

For  some  time  previous  to  the  inaugeration  there  had  been 
threats  of  bloodshed  on  that  occasion  and  the  military  author- 
ities taxed  their  brains  for  devices  to  prevent  any  such  catas- 
trophe. Geneaal  Scott  made  every  preparation  for  fighting. 
The  volunteer  organizations  in  the  procession  were  supplied 
with  cartridges  ;  sharpshooters  were  posted  at  convenient  spots 
along  the  avenue  and  on  the  roofs  of  buildings,  and  at  the 
market  house  a  small  force  of  infantry  was  posted  for  the 
support  of  the   riflemen    in    that  vicinity. 

The  batteries  of  Magruder  and  Fry  were  at  the  corner  of 
Delaware  Avenue  and  B  street,  ready  for  action ;  the  gunners 
and  drivers  remaining  at  ther  posts  throughout  the  ceremon- 
ies. General  Scott  in  the  meantime  kept  his  scouts  busiiy 
occupied  visiting  all  parts  ef  the  dense  crowd,  and  watching 
for  the  first  indications  of  trouble.  The  day  passed  off  how- 
ever quietly.  But  the  feverish  anxiety  of  that  morning,  aad 
the  certainty  of  terrible  bloodshed  following  any  riotous  de- 
monstrations,  created   impressions    on   the    minds    of    those   who 


44  L  I  F  E     A  X  D     51  A  R  T  Y  K  D  0  JI 

were  present,  that  will  probably  never  be  erased.  The  com- 
inandaat  !Magruder  of  oue  of  those  batteries  referred  to,  left 
Washington  a  few  days  after  and  [subsequently  was  made  a 
general  by  the  rebels.  Despite  all  the  plans  to  the  contrary 
the  inaugeration  happily  passed  off  without  the  occurrence  of 
any  scenes  of  violence  of  a  similar  character,  the  fighting  being 
confined    to    drunken    partisans    in    the   street. 

Since  1861,  Mr.  Lincoln  has  rarely,  if  ever,  appeared  in 
public  without  a  sufficient  escort,  one  company  of  cavalry 
being  inevitable  in  attendance.  Of  late,  however,  it  has  been 
thought  that  precaution  was  not  so  absolutely  necessary,  and 
in  the  visit  to  the  theatre  at  which  it  was  destined  he  should 
be  murdered,  he  was  accompanied  by  no  person  save  members 
of  his  own  family  and  one  officer  of  the  army.  However, 
great  danger  is  known  to  be,  after  a  time  we  became  indiff- 
erent to  it  and  neglect  precautions  that  were  at  first  deemed 
necessary.  Not  only  was  it  all  important  that  there  should  be 
a  guard  in  constant  attendance  on  the  President,  but  so  long 
as  there,  was  the  least  reason  for  suspicion  of  plots  to  destroy 
him,  every  effort  ought  to  have  been  made  to  ferret  out  the  schem- 
ers and  bring  them  to  justice,  that  an  example  be  made.  Had 
desperadoes  been  made  to  feel  that  so  sure  as  they  were  dis- 
covered in  any  such  undertakings,  punishment  the  most  severe 
was  to  follow,  few  would  design  a  conspiracy  and  none  poss- 
ibly  attempt   to   execute. 

The  last  inaugeration,  however,  did  not  pass  off  without  a 
due  i:)roportion  of  rumors ;  and,  amongst  these  was  one  that 
something  was  going  on,  indicating  that  trouble  was  anticipated 
from  some  undeveloped  quarter.  Rumor  had  it  that  all  the 
roads  leading    to    Washington    had    been    heavily    picketed    for 


OFABRAHAMLINCOLN.  45 

some  days,  and  the  bridges  guarded  with  extra  vigilance,  as 
if  on  the  watch  for  suspicious  characters.  Also,  that  the 
Eighth  Illinois  Cavalry  had  been  pushed  out  from  Fairfax 
Court  House,  on  an  active  scouting  expedition,  as  if  in  search 
of  some  of  the  same  suspicious  characters ;  and  further,  that 
undue  proportion  of  hard  cases,  in  grizzled  costume,  were  to 
be  seen  upon  the  streets,  indicating  something  pertending. 
But  as  the  day  wore  on  in  tranquillity,  all  fears  wore  dissi- 
pated. For  the  purpose  of  preserving  order,  the  military  pat- 
rols were  doubled,  and  made  more  frequent  rounds  of  the 
streets  than  usual.  But  notwithstanding  the  large  number  of 
strangers  in  the  city,  good  order  prevailed  and  but  few  arrests 
were   made   by   the   military    or  police    authorities. 

On  the  7th  of  March,  in  the  present  year,  a  man  named 
Clemens  was  arrested  in  Washington,  chargee  with  having 
contemplated  the  assassination  of  the  President.  The  facts 
in  the  case  are  as  follows : — Clemens  and  another  person 
came  from  Alexandria  on  inaugeration  day.  They  were  both 
extremely  disorderly,  and  seemed  to  have  been  drinking  freely, 
Clemens,  in  particular,  was  very  abusive.  He  said,  using 
gross  and  profane  language,  that  he  came  to  Washington  to 
kill  the  President;  that  he  was  late  by  about  one-half  hour, 
and  that  his  Saviour  would  never  forgive  him  for  failing  to 
do  so  ;  that  he  would  do  it  that  night,  namely,  the  4th  day 
of  March ;  and  that  he  came  expressly  to  do  it,  and  he  would 
do  it  before  he  left  town.  He  furthermore  said  that  tiie 
Government  has  robbed  him  of  a  certain  sum  of«*ioney.  This 
was  the  substance  of  an  affidavit.  Clemens  was  turned  over 
from  the  military  to  the  civil  authorities,  and  was  committed 
to  jail   for  trial   by   the   Court.        Afterward    he    was    released, 


46  LIFEAKDMARTTKDOM 

as  having  been  completely  under  the  influence  of  liquor  at 
the  time  the  alleged  threats  were  made,  that  he  did  not 
know  what  he  said.  But  would  it  be  remarkable,  in  view  of 
present  circumstances,  if  this  man  Clemens  should  really  have 
had,  or  have,  some  connection  with  the  real  assassin  of  the 
President  in  carrying  out  the  dread  ful  plot.  It  will  be  seen 
from  Washington  despatches  that  letters  found  in  the 
trunk  of  Booth,  the  murderer,  show  that  the  assassination 
was  originally  fixed  for  the  4th  of  March,  but  postponed 
for  some  reason  not  yet  known.  Clemens  declared  that  he 
also  intended   to   murder  Mr.   Lincoln   on   that    day. 

8E0RET      ORGANIZATIONS. 

Secret  societies  are  of  two  kinds,  those  whose  proceedings 
are  unknown  to  all  who  do  not  belong  to  them  ;  and  those 
whose  existence  as  well  as  transactions  is  kept  inviolate.  Of 
the  second  kind  are  those  which  have  their  origin  and  being 
in  Europe,  mostly  in  Italy,  where  they  ought  to  remain.  The 
American  soil  is  no  place  for  them.  Societies  of  this  kind 
are  destructive  of  liberty,  and  the  only  means  of  suppressing 
them  when  they  are  found  to  exist  is  to  bring  to  bear  such 
an  opposition  of  public  opinion,  that  respectable  persons  will 
have  nothing  to  do  with  them.  No  good  in  a  land  of  free- 
dom will  come  from  organizations  of  this  nature.  What  a 
man  is  unwilling  to  acknowledge  openly,  in  reference  to  his 
political  leanjjggs  and  convictions,  will  generally  be  found  to  be 
in,  antagonism  to  the  principles  on  which  the  government  is 
based.  Free  discussion  of  all  questions  relating  to  the  public 
weal  is  not  only  to  be  encouraged,  but  should  be  deemed  absolutely 


OF    ABRAHAM     LINCOLN.  47 

necessary.  We  can  never  expect  to  advance  in  political  science  so 
long  as  tlie  votes  of  enough  to  decide  contests  can  be  bought 
or  controled  by  a  few.  If  a  number  of  persons  in  secret  con- 
clave, oath  bound,  are  allowed  to  sway  the  masses,  that  they 
may  ride  into  power  and  retain  it,  popular  government  is 
but  a  name,  a  sound,  and  an  aristocracy  becomes  in  effect  the 
government. 

The  liberties  of  a  people  are  not  lost  at  once.  The 
gi-adation  is  not  rapid  even.  Slowly  in  most  cases,  but 
act  the  less  surely  the  process  goes  on,  and  not  till  some 
violent  measure  is  adopted  by  those  who  are  thus  seeking 
to  deprive  the  peoj)le  of  their  rights,  do  they  wake  up  to 
a  sense  of  their  situation.  And  then  it  is  found  that  what 
Jvas  once  nothing  more  than  a  simple  assertion  of  right 
has  become  treason  against  a  person,  or  set  of  persons,  who 
were  originally  nothing  more  than  the  agents  of  the  people. 

Extreme  measures  always  beget  extremes.  Violence  will 
be  followed  by  violence,  and  there  is  no  better  way  to 
bring  about  a  despotism  than  by  the  commission  of  such 
deeds  as  those  of  the  14th  of  April.  Stringent  means  will 
be  adopted  in  such  cases  to  capture  the  guilty  ones,  and 
many  persons  who  are  really  innocent  of  all  complicity 
in  the  affair  will  be  suspected,  and  perhaps  punished. 
The  attention  of  every  law-abiding  citizen  and  well-wisher 
of  his  country  must  be  drawn  to  the  investigation  going 
on.  All  are  alike  interested,  and  he  who  appears  indiffer- 
ent is  morally  an  abettor.  Sneers  at  those  who  assert  that 
secret  bodies  exist  must  not  be  heeded.  There  do  exist 
treasonable  combinationg  whose  purpose  is,  first,  destruction 
of  those  in  power,  and  finally  subversion  of  republican  in- 
stitutions. 


PLOTTIis'G    OEGAiTIZATIONS. 


"  There  can  be  no  reasonable  doubt  that  Lincoln  and 
Seward  have  been  assassinated.  The  crimes  of  these  two 
men  may  make  this  event  justifiable  in  the  eyes  of  man 
and  God,  but  wo  do  not  concur  with  those  who  rejoice. 
Johnson  has  greater  native  ability,  if  this  has  not  been 
impaired  by  his  excesses,  than  any  Northern  statesman  of 
his  j)arty  except  Chase.  The  war  will  now  assume  a  new 
phase.  If  confined  to  these  States,  then  it  is  one  of  utter 
extermination.  The  veritable  Eeigu  of  Terror  has  already 
begun  in  Tennessee.  It  is  probable,  if  Booth  be  a  Northern 
man,  that  the  assassination  of  Lincoln  is  the  work  of  those 
secret  Western  clubs  whose  mysteries  have  been  developed  in  late 
judicial  proceedings  in  Chicago  and  Ohio.  If  this  he  true,  the 
war  may  begin   in   the  North-west. 

<'  All  the  decency  of  the  North  was  recently  thoroughly 
disgusted  by  Johnson's  conduct  on  the  occasion  of  his  in- 
auguration as  Vice-President.  His  drunken  speech  was  il- 
lustrative of  his  character,  and  of  the  old  adage,  in  vino 
Veritas. 

"He  is  a  veritable  'plebeian,'  a  Icveler,  a  sans  cnlotte. 
However  wedded  to  Johnson's  theories  of  radicalism  may 
liave  been  the  Eepublican  newspapers,  a  few  of  them  dared 
to  mollify  his  violation  of  all  laws  of  civilized  decency. 
Coppcrheadism  could  have  inflicted  upon  the  vanity  and  self-re- 

[48] 


OF     ABRAHAM     LINCOLN. 


49 


sped  Puntanism  no  xoound  so  deep^  as  that  which  sent  Lin- 
coln to  perdition  and  elevated  Johnson  to  the  throne.  He  has- 
tened to  assume  the  royal  purple,  and  despite  the  recent 
military  triumphs,  the  pride  of  the  North  was  never  so 
humiliated   as   at  this  very   hour.''— Meridian  {Miss.)   Clarion. 

The  italicised  portions   of  the   above  extract  point   unmis- 
takably  to   the   Knights  of   the   Golden  Circle,    or,    as    they 
are   latterly   known.    Sons   of  Liberty;   and   convey    informa- 
tion  that    is    anything   but    guess-work   on  the    part   of    the 
author.     Matter    coming    to   us    in    this    semi-official  form  is 
abundant    confirmation    of    all    our    preconceived    suspicions, 
und    we    are    fully    assured     that    the    damnable    conspiracy 
>hat  culminated    in    the    murder    of    our  beloved   President, 
vras  incubated   in   the   temples   oi   this   cursed   league   of  the 
Circle,   and   that   its  minions  in  the   persons  of  Booth,    Har^ 
rold,   Payne,    Surratt,    and    their    associates,    were    let    loose 
upon  their  victims   as  the   more   active   agents   of  this   trea- 
sonable   association.     The     rapid,     positive     and     thoroughly 
systematic   development  of  facts  by   the   investigators  of  the 
assassination    conspiracy   is    daily    offering    proof   in    sujiport 
of  this   theory,    if,    indeed,    it   is    not  already    demonstrated; 
and,   if  the   proofs   are   really    conclusive,   what    further    out- 
rage  by  this   compact  with  hell   are  our   people   waiting   for, 
before    they   arise    in    their    might   and    destroy    it?     Has    it 
not  been   treated   as  a   myth   long   enough?    And    where   its 
existence   was  known,   have   not   its  vagai-ies   and  mummery 
been    sufficiently    laughed   at   to   allow  .people   to    give   it    a 
little   serious   attention  just   now?     After   this    evidence  of  its 
power   and    outrageous   designs,   are   there  any   Aveak  enough 
to    believe   it   impalpable,    or    simply    the    matter   for    pleas- 


50  L  I  P  K     A  N  D     M  A  R  T  Y  R  D  0  M 

antry?  Such  are  in  danger;  and  our  country  is  in  immj- 
nent  danger  until  the  destructive  elements  germinated  by 
this  pestiferous  order  ai-e  searched  out  and  thoroughly  ex- 
purgated  from  our  politics! 

Knights  mini,  and  similar  quackeries,  are  scarcely  con- 
genial to  'the  spirit  of  Republican  Institutions,  and  Avere 
never  organized  to  perpetuate  the  governmeut  our  fathers 
established  through  great  tribulation.  They  are  seeking 
strange  gods,  as  outre  and  distasteful  to  the  public  weal 
as  the  prostituted  representative  of  Reason  in  the  Eeign 
of  Terror.  Ben.  Allen,  the  Grand  Seigneur  of  Copperhead- 
ism  in  New  York,  declared  at  the  Democratic  National 
Convention  at  Chicago,  last  year:  '^  The  people  will  soon 
rise,  and  if  they  cannot  put  Lincoln  out  of  power  by  the  bal- 
lot, they  icill  by  the  bullet^  This  declaration  was  received 
with  loud  cheers,  and  thereupon  S.  S.  Cox,  C.  C.  Burr, 
Koontz  of  Pennsylvania,  Baker  of  Michigan,  Stambaugh  of 
Ohio,  and  several  other  delegates  gave  utterance  to  similar 
choice  opinions, — each  calling  our  President  a  usurper,  and 
denouncing  against  him  all  the  most  outrageous  crimes 
known  to  our  laws.  Threats  of  assassination  were  not  made 
vaguely,  but  if  the  Copperhead  chiefs  meant  what  they 
publicly  declared,  every  one  of  them  should  be  indicted  as 
accessories   before   the  fact,    and   tried  without  ceremony. 

The  order  of  the  Knights  of  the  Golden  Circle  is  not  confined 
to  the  North-west,  as  rebel  authority  would  have  us  believe, 
but  is  co-extensive  with  secession  proclivities  everywhere.  It 
was  an  invention  of  the  Secession  movement  years  ago,  when 
Jackson  forced  the  poisonous  hydra  to  secrete  itself  in  dark 
and  unfrequented  places,  and  deposit  its  slime  where  it  would 


OF     ABKAHAJI      LINCOLN.  51 

not  be  contagious  ;  but  cop]Derheadisni  could  not  thrive  with- 
out it,  and  it  was  imported  from  the  South  to  force  the 
growth  of  a  Northern  party  with  Southern  sympathies.  It  has 
existed  in  our  midst  duz'ing  the  past  four  years,  but  we  hardly 
comprehend  the  fact ;  and  still  less  do  the  people  know  of 
the  nature  and  unholy  pui'poses  of  the  organization.  It  is 
time  these  particulars  are  fully  understood.  Its  oath; »  and 
penalties,  its  sj)y  system  and  police  regulations,  all  its  mm*- 
derous  ingenuity  and  damnable  crimes,  should  be  made  public, 
that  we  may  know  the  enemy  we  have  to  contend  against  j 
and  that  the  people  may  know  what  a  mine  has  been  planted 
beneath  their  homes,  in  many  cases  by  their  own  neighbors, 
to  blow  them  to  destruction  in  a  moment.  The  "  exposition  " 
of  Edmund  Wright,  first  published  about  a  year  since,  was 
scarcely  heeded,  although  widel}''  read.  The  Knights  jeered 
at  it,  and  called  it  incredible;  but  their  object  is  now  evident 
enough  to  thinking  men,  for  of  course  they  saw  plainly 
that  if  Wright  was  believed,  their  power  was  at  an  end. 
It  is  time  now  to  heed  every  warning,  and  to  break,  per- 
manently, the  power  of  this  oligarchy  of  devils.  It  is 
more  dangerous  to  our  liberties  to-day  than  all  the  armies 
the  South  have  had  in  the  field  have  ever  been  ;  it  works 
in  secret,  and  we  can  have  no  notice  of  its  intentions  to  sally 
forth  to  burn,  pillage  and  murder.  Its  oaths  are  binding 
as  words  can  make  them ;  its  penalties  are  terrible  as  the 
foulest  devises  of  the  Spanish  Inquisition ;  its  police  regula- 
tions are  on  a  large  scale,  carefully  and  systematically  ar- 
ranged ;  and  all  the  guards  that  ingenuity  can  invent  are 
thi'own  out  to  prevent  recursancy.  It  is  sworn  to  support 
the  South,  at  any  and  all  hazards,  in  every  attempt 
4 


52  LIFEAND     MARTYRDOM 

to  subvert  our  government  j  and  such  has  been  its  oath 
through  four  years  of  devastating  war.  It  is  sworn  to  kill 
all  who  oppose  its  designs,  if  such  a  result  seems  necessary 
to  gain  its  ends ;  and  the  initiate  pledges  his  own  life  to 
assist  in  murder,  arson,  robbery,  and  the  carrying  out  of 
all  its  schemes,  on  his  first  introduction  to  its  mysteries.  Not 
a  few;  of  the  sudden  disai^pearances  of  people  who  will  never  be 
heard  of  more  in  this  world,  may  be  traced  to  the  "  Knights," 
provided  the  knowing  ones  would  uncover  some  of  their 
tracks  in  the  sand;  and  they  will  be  forced  to  answer  for 
the  death  of  Abraham  Lincoln  ! 

This  order,  whose  history,  when  known,  will  entitle  it  to 
outrank  all  the  secret  political  orders  of  Italy,  in  the  enormity 
of  its  crimes,  still  exists—not  only  in  the  Northwest,  but  to 
an  alarming  extent  throughout  the  North  and  South;  and  its 
leaders  are  now  plotting  fresh  treason ;  at  the  same  time 
are  subscribing  oaths  of  allegiance  and  making  the  loudest  pro- 
fessions of  loyalty,  while  its  outlaws  commit  murder,  arson, 
and  robbery  to  administer  to  the  wants  of  its  exchequer.  It 
works  in  secret  within  its  "temples"  and  without;  places  its 
assassins  in  hiding  to  shoot  and  stab;  applies  the  torch  at 
midnight,  when  the  innocent  are  wrapped  in  peaceful  slum- 
bers ;  waylays  railway  trains,  to  tumble  them  down  embank- 
ments, by  the  displaeeneient  of  the  track ;  conceals  torpedoes 
in  coal  heaps  to  explode  in  steamboat  furnaces  and  hotels ; 
and  comes  upon  the  solitary  traveler  unawares,  to  wrest  from 
him  his  money  and  life. 

Investigation  has  already  indicated  that  this  order  originated 
the  plot  to  assassinate  Abraham  Lincoln,  and  when  such  is 
proven  to  be  the  fact,  as  it  will  be,  who    will   contend   that  all 


OF    ABRAHAM    LINCOLN.  53 

its  members- are  not  accessories?  "Who  will  say  they  are  not 
all  guilty  of  the  murder,  and  that  all  should  suffer  the  pen- 
alty of  that  crime  ?  If  not  all  guilty,  or  equally  so,  it  is  im- 
portant now  to  know  who  of  these  Knights  are  innocent,  and 
the  degrees  of  guilt  of  the  others.  It  is  of  the  first  impor- 
tance to  them  personally,  to  show  their  skirts  clear  of  blood- 
stains ;  for  the  vengeance  of  the  people  will  be  appeased  for 
this  crime  without  let  or  hindrance,  fully  and  to  the  last  re- 
sort j  and  the  guilty  will  suffer,  whatever  their  numbers,  or 
positions. 

It  is  shown  that  the  programme  of  murder  was  arranged  on 
an  immense  scale,  and  at  least  one  hundred  prominent  person- 
ages were  marked  for  sacrifice  to  the  Moloch  of  Blood.  There 
were  one  hundred  armed  assassins  at  Ford's  Theatre  on  the 
night  of  the  14th  of  April,  each  ready  to  aim  the  deadly  bul- 
let at  the  life  of  a  victim;  and  only  through  that  Providence 
that  stayed  the  hand  of  him  who  had  promised  to  turn  off 
the  gas  and  leave  the  place  in  darkness,  was  such  an  event 
averted  I  Other  murderers  were  engaged  in  similar  scenes  of 
blood  at  other  localities  in  Washington ;  and  will  probably 
never  be  known  how  many  hearts  God  struck  with  terror  or 
remorse — how  many  failed  through  fear  or  lack  of  opportu- 
nity, that  otherwise  would  have  added  their  names  to  this 
black  record.  What,  then,  may  reasonably  be  supposed  as 
the  extent  of  a  conspiracy  that  employs  so  many  agents  to 
do  its  work  ?  Too  large,  by  far,  for  the  safety  of  freemen ; 
too   powerful   for   evil   to   remain   in   power. 

When    the  tidings    of    the     assassination   were    made     public 

throughout  the  land,  a  few  in  each  locality  were  inconsider- 
ate   enough   to   express     gratification     at    the    calamity     of  tha 


64  LIFKANDMARTTKDOM 

nation!  Who  were  tliey?  Of  what  class  and  antecedent? 
Many  paid  the  penalty  for  their  blasphemy  with  their  lives, 
and  few  stopped  to  consider  that  the  executioners  were  heed- 
ful of  the  old  Mosaic  law,  that  requires  "a  life  for  a  life ;" 
but  history,  in  other  times,  will  so  wake  up  the  record  I 
They  were  part  of  a  murderous  gang — part  of  the  machinery 
that  worked  it  into  action,  and  equally  guilty  with  those  who 
executed  the  bloody  work. 

In  other  localities,  remote  from  telegraph  stations,  de- 
tailed reports  of  the  great  crime  reached  the  jjeople  too 
soon,  and  in  forms  greatly  exaggerated,  involving  the  death 
of  President,  Vice-President,  and  every  member  of  the 
Cabinet.  It  is  useless  to  assume  that  in  such  neighbor- 
hoods something  of  the  matter  was  not  foreknown, — but 
by  whom  ?  Evidence  is  plentiful  enough  that  the  conspi- 
racy was  extensive,  and  that  its  moving  spirits  were  of  the 
North  and  So-uth,  in  combination.  The  investigation  and 
working  up  of  the  evidence  is  in  charge  of  shrewd  heads, 
who  will  do  their  work  thoroughly.  It  is  no  longer  a 
question  whether  the  conspiracy  will  be  traced  to  its  real 
projectors  and  abettors,  for  the  tangled  skein  is  daily  un- 
raveling ; — new  developments  transpire  as  rapidly  as  the 
scenes  in  a  panorama ; — each  discovery  adds  a  fresh  link 
to  the  chain  of  evidence  that  is  gathering  around  the  ac- 
cused, to  hem  them  in  beyond  rescue ;  and  it  is  known 
that   none   of  the   guilty    ones   can   escape. 

The  lesson  is  dearly  purchased,  but  should  be  heeded 
by  all. 


PLOT  TO  ASSASSINATE  THE  PRESIDENT. 


Whether  Jefferson  Davis  and  other  rebel  leaders  con- 
trived, authorized,  or  openly  approve  the  assassination  of 
President  Lincoln,  is  a  question  to  which  we  can  not  give 
a  direct  answer.  The  evidence  in  the  case  is  collateral, 
and  illustrative  rather  than  positive.  When  Preston  S. 
Brooks,  of  South  Carolina,  assaulted  and  tried  to  murder 
Charles  Sumner,  we  of  the  North  said:  The  South  will 
denounce  that  act  as  cowai-dly  and  infamous;  but,  on  the 
conti-ary,  the  South  by  her  newspapers  and  public  men, 
without  one  exception,  applauded  it.  Since  that  time,  be- 
side making  war  on  the  republic,  the  South  has  evinced 
its  fiendish  hatred  of  the  North  by  the  atrocities  commit- 
ted on  our  dead  soldiers  at  Bull  Run,  by  the  massacres 
at  Milliken's  Bend  and  Fort  Pillow,  by  the  systematic  cru- 
elties inflicted  on  our  prisoners,  by  the  Alabama  outrages, 
by    the    St.   Albans'  and    other    piracies    on   the   border,   by 

the  hotel  bui-ning  plots,  and  so  far  as  threats  went,  there 
has  been  abundant  evidence  that  assassination  was  deemed 
an  equally  legitimate  and  justifiable  method  of  wai'fare. 
The  advertisements  and  editorials,  appearing  repeated- 
ly unrebuked  in  Southern  papers,  proposing  rewards  for 
the  murder  or  kidnapping  of  Mr.  Lincoln,  show  that  the 
rebel  leaders   did  not  object  to   such    schemes    though    they 

[65] 


66  LIFEANDMARTYRDOM 

may  not  or  may  have  incited  them.  About  a  year  ago,  a 
correspondent  of  the  New  York  Tribune,  who  had  for  some 
time  been  on  duty  inside  the  war  office  at  Eichmond,  and 
who  afterwards  escaped  to  "Washington,  sent  to  that  paper 
some  vahiable  and  timely  information.  He  wrote  subse- 
quently from  Canada,  disclosing  and  thereby  preventing 
more  than  one  scheme  for  a  murdex'ous  foray  across  the 
border.  He  foretold  the  plot  which  culminated  in  New 
York,  in  the  attempt  to  fire  the  hotels,  and  he  revealed 
the  particulars  of  a  conspiracy  to  kidnap  the  President, 
which  the  following  details  will  show  to  have  been  consid- 
ered aad  approved  by  the  rebel  President,  Secretary  of  State, 
and  Secretary  of  War.  We  quote  in  full  a  passage  from  a 
letter  published  in  the  Tribune  of  March  19th,  1S64: 

"In  a  former  communication  I  stated  that  a  plan  had 
been  submitted  to  the  rebel  War  Department  by  Mar- 
-grave,  who  had  been  for  a  considerable  time  an  emissary 
in  the  North,  to  kidnap  President  Lincoln  and  carry  him 
to  Richmond,  or  if  it  should  be  found  impossible  to  escape 
with  him  to  the  Rebel  lines,  to  assassinate  him.  Owing 
to  a  change  in  the  position  of  the  armies  about  this  time, 
the  plan   proposed   was    rendered   imi)ra«ticable. 

"  In  the  early  part  of  November,  and  only  a  few  days 
before  he  was  sent  North,  Margrave  submitted  another 
plan,  the  details  of  which  may  be  interesting  to  the 
reader.  To  give  the  plan  in  minutiae  would  occupy  too 
much  space,   but  a  digest  of   it  will  prove   quite  intelligible. 

"  One  hundred  and  fifty  picked  men  were  to  go  secretly 
North  and  take  quarters  in  Washington,  Georgetown,  Bal- 
timore and    Alexandria,  so  as    to   be  able     to    communicate 


OFABRAHAMUNCOLN'.  57 

daily  Tvith  each  other,  and,  upon  a  day  fixed  by  their 
leader,  were  to  assemble  in  Washington  for  the  purpose  of 
making  the  seizure.  The  President,  it  Avas  claimed,  could 
be -easily  seized  at  a  private  hour  at  the  White  House,  or 
in  going  to,  or  returning  from  church,  or  on  some  other 
.  favorable  occasion,  and  thrust  into  a  carriage  and  driven 
off.  The  carriage  was  to  be  joined  a  few  miles  out  of  the 
city  by  twenty-five  or  thirty  armed  men  on  horseback.  It 
was  proposed  to  drive  to  Indian  Point,  about  twenty-five 
miles  south  of  Washington,  on  the  Potomac — two  or  three 
relays  of  fleet  horses  being  stationed  on  the  way — where 
a  boat  was  to  bo  in  waiting  to  cross  the  river,  and  land 
the  captive  a  few  miles  south  of  Occoquan,  when  it  would 
be  an  easy  matter  for  his  captors  to  work  their  way  with 
him  through  the  woods  by  night  into  the  Eebel  lines.  To 
prevent  pux'suit,  every  bridge  between  Washington  and  In- 
dian Point  was  to  be  mined  beforehand,  and  blown  up  as 
soon  as  the  captive  and  his  captors  had  crossed.  Huge 
trees  were  also  to  be  ready  cut  and  thrown  across  the 
road  in  various  places,  as  soon  as  they  had  passed,  by 
men  stationed  along  for  the  purpose,  who  were  afterward 
to   separate   and   escape   as  best  they   could. 

"  The  Secretary  of  War  thought  this  scheme  might  succeed ; 
but  he  doubted  whether  such  a  proceeding  would  be  of  a 
military  character  and  justifiable  under  the  laws  of  war. 
He  promised,  however,  to  consult  the  President  and  Mr.  Ben- 
jamin ;  but  what  conclusion  was  arrived  at  I  am  unable  with 
certainty  to  say.  About  a  week,  however,  after  the  plan 
was  submitted,  and  the  same  day  that  Margrave  left  for  the 
North,    I   asked   Mr.   Wellford,    who   is    familiar    with    all   the 


58 


LIFE    AND   MARTYRDOM 


secrets  of  the  Department,  if  the  plan  had  been  adopted,  and 
lie  answered,  "You  will  see  Old  Abe  here  in  the  spring  as 
sure  as  God."  A  few  days  afterward  I  was  sent  to  Atlanta, 
and   never   returned   to   Richmond   to   hear   about  the    matter. 

"  But  this  is  not  the  only  scheme  by  any  means  that  has 
been  devised  for  kidnapping  our  President.  Last  summer  a 
club  or  society  of  wealthy  citizens  of  Richmond  was  formed 
for  the  purpose  of  raising  a  fund  for  this  object.  Circulars 
were  sent  to  trustworthy  citizens  in  every  other  city  and 
town  in  the  Confederacy,  inviting  co-operation  in  the  grand 
undertaking,  and  an  immense  sum  of  money  was  subscribed. 
The  firm  of  Merry  &  Co.,  bankers  in  Richmond,  subscribed 
§10,000,  and  Sumner  &  Arents,  auctioneers,  subscribed  §5,000; 
and  I  have  heard  on  good  authority  that  there  were  several 
in  the  capital  who  subscribed  even  more  liberally  than  the 
parties  named,  but  who  they  were,  I  did  not  learn.  One 
man  of  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  whose  name  I  have  for- 
gotten, subscribed  $20,000.  It  was  proposed,  when  all  was 
ready,  to  obtain  a  furlough  for  Mosby,  and  make  him  lead- 
er  of  the    enterprise. 

"  Whether  these  schemes  have  been  abandoned,  or  whether 
the  kidnappers  are  only  awaiting  a  favorable  opportunity  to 
execute  them,  remains  to  be  seen ;  but  certain  it  is  that  too 
much  caution  cannot  be  observed  by  the  President,  or  the 
military    commanders    stationid    at   the    capital." 

As  these  statements  were  questioned  by  many  journals 
in  the  North,  the  writer  of  the  above  subsequently  for- 
warded to  the  same  paper  the  following  documentary  evi- 
dence, being  a  letter  from  Calhoun  Cullum,  at  that  time  a 
captain   in     a    North     Carolina    regiment,   and    well    known   in 


OF    ABRAHAM     LIN  CO  I.  X.  59 

the  South.  The  original  letter  was  gent  enveloped,  post- 
marked and  stamped  with  a  Confederate  ten  cent  postage 
stamp,  and  addressed  to  Mr.  "Wellford,  a  clerk  in  the  war 
office  at  Eichmond.  Although  it  was  published  as  long  ago 
as  April  23d,  1864,  its  genuineness  has  never  been  denied 
nor    its   statements    contradicted : 

"MoROANTOWK,   Sept.    30,   1803. 

"Mt  Dkar  Wellfoed  :  I  have  for  several  weeks  been  looking  for  a 
letter  from  you  on  the  subject  of  our  last  conversation.  On  yesterday, 
Mr.  Gaither,  M.  C.  for  the  IXth  District,  came  to  see  father  and  dined 
with  us.  He  spent  the  week  before  last  in  Richmond,  and  had  a  num- 
ber of  conversations  with  the  President,  Secretary  of  War,  and  other  of- 
ficials. I  inquired  of  him  if  he  had  heard  anything  of  the  ruse  de 
guerre  to  capture  "Honest  Abe,"  and  he  said  he  had,  but  that  the  af- 
fair would  probably  be  managed  rather  by  individual  enterprise  than  by 
the  Government.  He  gave  me  the  names  of  the  most  prominent  workers  in 
the  project  in  Richmond,  and  as  you  must  be  acquainted  with  them  all,  I  beg 
you  to  put  in  a  timely  word  for  me.  If  the  affair  was  to  be  managed 
by  the  Government  I  knew  your  influence,  and  that  of  my  other 
friends,  with  Mr.  Seddon,  would  get  me  assigned  to  the  part  I  desire  to 
play  in  the  grand  comedy  cr  tragedy,  as  the  case  may  be ;  but  if  it  is 
to  be  managed  by  the  citizens  of  Richmond,  my  chances  are  not  so  goodj 
and  I  may  have  to  depend  entirely  on  you.  Speak  a  good  word  for 
me  at  once,  and  I  will  see  you  next  week.  As  I  told  you,  I  would 
willingly  sell  my  soul  to  the  devil  for  the  honor  of  playing  a  conspicu- 
tHis   part   in   the   destruction   of  the  great  hydra. 

"My   arm   is  nearly   well,  and   I  find   it   quite   useful    again,   as   you  wil! 
conclude   from   my   being   able    to   dispense   with  an  amanuensis. 
"  Don't  neglect   me. 

"  Tour   sincere  friend,  Cullum." 

Now,  it  is  remarkable  that  this  kidnapping  scheme  is  the 
same  which  Booth  at  first  contemplated,  as  shown  in  his  re- 
cently published  letter,  but  which  he  subsequently  abandoned 
for    the     assassination.       If,     then,    one     part    of    the     plot    of 


'60  L  I  F  E    A  N  D     M  A  R  T  Y  R  D  0  M 

wliicli  Booth  was  the  agent,  was  concocted  at  Eichmond  by 
Davis,  Seddon  and  Benjamin,  is  it  not  like  that  tliey  knew 
of  the  other  part  and  of  the  more  horrible  shape  which  it 
finally  took  ?  There  are  unwritten  chapters  which  will  be 
unfolded  to  the  public,  as  the  trial  of  the  chief  conspirators 
progresses.  There  are  chapters  of  such  horrid  detail  and 
extensive  combinations,  that  will  startle  the  country  equal  to 
anything  which  has  transpired  since  the  commencement  of 
the  rebellion.  The  public  have  no  idea  of  the  extent  to 
which  the  authorities  have  probed  this  plot.  The  accounts 
published  give  but  a  faint  idea.  They  know  the  chief  actor 
in  the  tragedy  has  been  tracked  and  fallowed  through  Mary- 
land, and  hunted  down  in  Virginia,  and  how  he  died  like  a 
dog ;  but  this  is  only  one  portion  of  the  whole  affair 
— only  one  branch  of  the  main  stream  which  has  been  gone 
over.  In  almost  every  other  respect,  equal  success  crowned 
the  efforts  of  the  authorities  ;  and  in  flict  some  instances,  with 
much  greater  success,  as  the  public  will  see  in  due  course 
of  time.  The  persons  taken  into  custody  as  participators, 
aiders  and  abettors,  or  in  some  way  accomplices  to  the 
tragic  deed,  are  numbered  almost  by  hundreds.  There  are 
still  a  few  at  large,  and  until  they  are  captured  it  will  not 
be  the  part  of  wisdom  to  give  details  and  developments  in 
full,  which  have  transpired.  It  is  but  proper  to  state  that 
the  principal  actors — the  men,  who,  on  the  night  of  the  four- 
teenth of  April,  were  at  their  posts,  and  performed  their  al- 
lotted  portion    of  the   work — are    in    limbo. 

The  facts  are  not  conclusive  where  the  plot  originated,  but 
circumstances  point  strongly  to  its  being  the  work  of  the 
fire-eating  Southerners,  who  by  their  flaming  speeches  and 
boasts    that  a   Brutus   would    arise    to  plant  the    dagger  in  the 


OF     ABRAHAM    LINCOLN.  61 

breast  of  the  first  anti-slavery  President  that  was  ever  elected, 
gave  the  idea  to  their  followers  which  has  been  put  into  prac- 
tice by  the  over  zealous  fanatics  in  our  midst  who  had  not 
the  courage,  to  enter  the  Southern  armies,  and  fight  for  the 
cause  which  they  pretended  to  uphold.  Whether  the  detail  or 
the  employment  of  the  leading  men  in  the  tragedy  was  the 
work  of  the  rebel  conspirators  who  had  sought  refuge 
in  Canada  or  not  the  facts  at  the  trial  will  no  doubt  tell. 
The  fact  that  some  of  the  parties  connected  with  it  were 
participators  in  the  St.  Albans'  raid,  and  Confederates  in  the 
attempt  to  burn  New  York  city  last  Fall  furnishes  strong  cir- 
cumstantial evidence,  that  the  same  brain  that  planned  or  insti- 
gated those  atrocious  deeds  instigated  and  set  in  motion  the . 
plot   for  assassinating   our   late,    lamented    Chief  Magistrate. 

The  conspirators  were  bound  together  by  one  of  the  strongest 
oaths  ever  taken  by  mortals  and  every  person  who  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  secret,  was  bound  to  remain  faithful  to  the  end 
at  the  penalty  of  death — his  life  to  be  taken  by  one  of  his 
associates.  Many  of  the  Confederates  were  not  taken  fully 
into  the  secret,  and  those  only  were  allowed  to  approach  it 
who  by  degrees  had  their  faithfulness  tested.  The  authori- 
ties have  been  fortunate  enough  to  ascertain  where,  when, 
and  how  often  the  conspirators  held  their  meetings,  and 
have  taken  into  custody  the  people  who  occupied  the  houses 
where  they  met.  The  number  which  were  taken  into  the  se- 
cret before  the  consummation  of  the  deed,  was  so  large  that 
it  is  astonishing  that  some  one  of  the  number  did  not  re- 
veal  it. 

It  seems  that  about  three  weeks  before  the  plans  were  put 
into   execution,   one   of  the   parties  revolted   at  the  part  of  the 


62  LIFEANDMARTTKDOM 

work  whhh  the  leaders  had  allotted  to  him  on  the  eventful 
night,  aud  at  once  manifested  a  desire  to  withdraw.  He 
was,  hcvever,  reminded  of  his  oath  and  every  eflfort  made  to 
bring  him  up  to  his  work.  But  the  more  he  thought  of  it 
the  more  he  became  alarmed  at  the  fearful  propositiun  of  the 
hellish  schemes.  After  several  days  parlying,  he  succeeded  in 
getting  the  consent  of  his  associates  to  relieve  him  from  all 
further  connection  with  them,  on  condition  that  he  should 
leave  the  city  and  not  return  for  sixty  days.  He  left  the 
city,  and  was  somewhere  within  the  limits  of  the  Army  of 
the  Potomac,  when  the  news  came  there  of  the  Assassination 
of  the  President.  He  repaired  immediately  to  Fortress  Mon- 
roe and  gave  himself  up  and  was  sent  to  Washington,  ar- 
riving there  the  next  morning  after  the  funeral  services  of 
Mr.  Lincoln  at  the  White  House.  When  taken  before  the 
authorities  he  made  a  f\ill  confession  of  all  he  knew  of  the 
plot,  n'i  to  where  and  when  they  met,  and  who  were  con- 
cerned in  it.  It  is  understood  that  the  proclamation  issued 
during  that  day  by  Secretary  Stanton,  offering  an  additional 
reward  for  Booth,  also  rewards  for  Atzerot  and  Harrold,  was 
based  xipon  the  confession  of  this  prisoner.  At  any  rate  the 
arreste  on  that  day  were  numerous,  and  several  residents  of 
Washington  were  among  the  number.  This  opened  the  way 
fbr   further   important   developments. 

The  number  engaged  in  executing  the  plot  is  very  large. 
Besides  Booth  and  his  accomplices,  in  and  around  the 
theatre,  the  assassin  of  Mr.  Seward,  and  Atzerot  at  the 
Kirkvirood,  there  were  a  number  engaged  in  cutting  the 
telegraph  wires  leading  from  the  War  Department,  and 
still   another  set   endeavoring  to  divert  the  attention   of  the 


OF     ABRAHAM     LINCOLN.      ,  63 

authorities  from  the  fleeing  culprits.  It  appears  that  at 
precisely  ten  minutes  past  ten  there  were  twenty-two  wires 
leading  from  the  War  Office  in  different  directions,  and 
connecting  with  the  fortifications  and  out-posts  cut.  These 
wires  having  been  cut  at  a  considerable  distance  from  each 
other,  together  with  the  simultaneousness  of  this  work, 
shows  very  plainly  that  a  number  of  men  were  engaged 
in  it,  and  it  is  now  believed  that  there  were  twenty-two 
men  appointed  to  do  this  work.  The  time  at  which  this 
was  accomplished  furnishes  beyond  a  doubt,  the  hour  which 
the  President  was  assassinated,  which  has  been  stated  all 
the  way  from  half-past  nine  to  half-past  ten.  It  probably 
did    not   vary   much   from   ten   o'clock. 

The  numerous  stories  in  reference  to  the  contemplated 
assassination  of  all  the  leading  officials  in  the  government 
are  not  at  all  to  be  credited.  The  evidence  thus  far  ob- 
tained, shows  that  the  schemes  only  contemplated  the  as- 
sassination of  the  President,  Vice-President  and  Secretary 
Seward, — no  more  and  no  less.  For  some  reason  the  per- 
son who  was  to  execute  the  programme  on  Mr.  Johnson 
failed  to  do  his  work.  Booth  is  the  only  man  who  car- 
ried out  his  part  of  the  work  to  the  letter.  The  would- 
be  assassin  of  Mr.  Seward  no  doubt  considered  that  he  had 
performed  his  work  thoroughly,  but  providential  circum- 
stances prevented   his   blows   being   effective. 

Justice  bids  fair  to  be  swift  in  visiting  these  culprits 
and  accomplices.  The  leader  has  already  died  a  death  of 
great  agony  and  hard  suffering.  The  future  has  confined 
within   its   unknown   mysteries   the   fate   of  the   rest. 


THE   ASSASSIITS— THEIR   PURSUIT   AXi) 

CAPTURE. 


The  President  and  General  Grant  had  been  invited  to 
attend  Ford's  theatre,  in  "Washington,  on  the  evening  of 
the  fourteenth,  and  both  had  accepted  the  invitation.  Gen- 
eral Grant  was  called  North  and  left  Washington  during 
the  evening.  The  President  attended  the  theatre  lest  the 
audience  might  be  entirely  disapiDointed,  in  consequence  of 
General  Grant's  absence.  Shortly  after  the  President  and 
party  entered  the  box  and  had  become  interested  in  the 
performance,  John  Wilkes  Booth  was  seen,  by  one  wHo 
knew  him  well,  passing  along  the  dress  circle  toward  the 
President's  box,  when  he  came  to  within  a  step  or  two  of 
the  door  of  the  box  Booth  stopped,  and  taking  off  his  hat 
held  it  in  his  left  hand,  while  he  leaned  against  the  wall 
behind  him.  In  this  attitude  he  remained  for  about  half 
a  minute,  then  stepping  down  one  step  he  put  his  hand  on 
the  door-  and  bent  his  knee  against  it;  the  door  opened 
and  Booth  entered.  The  shot  was  the  next  thing,  Booth 
stood  upright  with  both  hands  raised,  but  at  that  moment 
no  weapon  or  any  thing  else,  in  either  hand  was  seen. 
He  then  sprang  to  the  front  of  the  box,  laid  his  left 
hand  on  the  railway,  but  was  checked  for  an  instant  evi- 
dently   by    his    coat   or    pants    being    caught    in    something, 

[64] 


JOHN  WILKES  BOOTH, 


OPABRAHAMLINCOLN.  65 

or  being  held  back  by  somebody,  A  knife  was  now  seen 
in  bis  right  hand,  which  he  also  laid  upon  the  railing 
where  he  already  had  his  left,  and  vaulted  out.  As  his 
legs  passed  between  the  folds  of  the  flags  decorating  the 
box,  his  spur,  which  he  wore  on  the  right  heel,  caught 
the  drapery  and  brought  it  down,  tearing  a  strip  with  it. 
When  he  let  go  the  railing  he  still  clutched  the  shining 
knife.  He  crouched  as  he  fell,  falling  on  one  knee  and 
putting  forth  both  hands  to  help  himself  to  recover  an 
erect  position,  which  he  did  with  the  rapidity  and  easy 
agility  of  an  athlete.  As  he  strode  across  the  stage  he 
shouted  the  motto  of  Virginia  "  Sic  semper  tyranyiis,"  floiu-- 
ishing  his  knife  as  he  passed.  When  he  reached  the  other 
side  of  the  stage,  just  before  he  became  invisible  by  pass- 
ing into  the  entrance,  he  looked  up  and  was  heard  to 
say,  "I   have  done   it,"   and  was  then  lost  sight  of. 

JOHN  WILKES  BO OTH. 

It  has  been  generally  understood,  and  the  family  encour- 
aged the  belief,  that  Junius  Brutus  Booth,  Sr.,  was  legally 
married  to  the  lady  who  passed  in  this  country  as  his  second 
wife.  Indeed,  when  some  seven  years  ago,  the  announcement 
of  the  death  of  the  first  wife,  Mrs.  Mary  Booth,  in  Balti- 
more, was  made  in  a  New  York  paper,  the  statement  that  she 
had  been  divorced  being  added,  the  sons  united  in  a  card, 
which  was  published  in  that  journal,  setting  forth  that  their 
father  had  had  but  one  wife,  and  that  one  their  mother, 
then  (and  now)  living — the  putative  Mrs.  Rosalie  Booth,  from 
whom   he   had   never   been   divorced.       This,    however,   was    in^ 

correct.     The  elder  Booth  was   a  married   man   at  the   time  he 
5 


66  LIFE     AND  MARTYRDOM 

4 

last  appeared  at  Covent  Garden  Theatre.  While  there,  he 
chanced  to  meet  in  the  Covent  Garden  Market,  (then  as  well 
known  as  Haymarket)  a  flower-girl  named  Rosalie,  who  reg- 
ularly sold  flowers  to  market  customers  in  that  quarter  of 
London.  She  possessed  rare  personal  attractions,  and  was,  in 
fact,  exceedingly  beautiful.  Booth  cultivated  an  acquaintance 
with  her,  which  ripened  into  intimacy,  and  resulted  in  an 
elopement,  Booth  at  once  taking  passage  for  America,  where 
the  fair  Rosalie  was  presented  as,  and  passed  for,  his  wife. 
By  his  first  wife,  he  had  one  child,  at  the  time  of  his 
desertion  from  her — an  infant.  When  she  ascertained  where 
Booth  had  gone,  she  also  followed,  bringing  the  child  with 
her,  afid  subsequently  took  up  her  residence  in  Baltimore. 
This  child,  when  arrived  at  man's  estate,  adopted  the  profes- 
sion of  the  law,  and  Richard  Booth,  Esq.,  was  afterward 
known  as  a  prominent  member  of  the  Boston  bar.  He  never 
so  much  as  recognized  the  other  children  of  Booth,  and  for 
years  did  not  speak  to  his  father.  It  was  probably  out  of 
consideration  for  this  child,  that  the  elder  Booth  did  not 
sue  for  a  writ  of  divorce  from  his  wife  Mary ;  if,  indeed, 
there  were  any  grounds  upon  which  he  could  hope  to  obtain 
the  desired  legal  severance,  without  which,  it  seems  a  second 
marriage  was  out  of  the  question.  Her  troubles  and  trials 
led  her  gradually  into  habits  of  dissipation.  She  became  al- 
most as  intemperate  as  Booth  himself,  and  it  was  a  custom 
with  her,  when  in  liquor,  to  haunt  the  Baltimore  markets 
for  a  chance  meeting  with  the  woman  who  had  usurped  her 
place  in  the  heart  and  home  of  her  husband.  These  en- 
counters were  as  much  avoided  by  the  one,  as  sought  for  by 
the   other.      Mrs.    Booth    assailed    Rosalie    with    violent,   oflen 


1 


OFABRAHAMLINCOLN.  67 

coarse  language,  opprobrious  epithets,  whicli  the  other  never 
resented,  but  cut  short  by  the  speediest  exit.  The  fact  grow- 
ing out  of  this  condition  of  affairs  is,  that  the  children — 
Junius  Brutus,  Edwin  Forrest,  John  Wilkes,  Joseph  and  the 
sisters — are  of  illegitimate  birth ;  and  it  is  a  fact  which 
would  probably  have  died  out  with  the  few  who  were  privy 
to  it,  but  for  the  great  crime  which  has  quickened  public 
curiosity  and  unlocked  the  secrets  of  the  family  charnel-house, 
whose  gates  had  been  so  securely  closed  and  guarded  by 
the  children,  in  their  struggle  for  professional  rank  and  so- 
cial position,  that  even  a  legal  inquisition  could  hardly  have 
forced  them  ajar.  They  were  all  greatly  attached  to  their  mother, 
and  it  was  their  custom,  when  fulfilling  engagements  through- 
out the  country,  to  remit  their  funds  to  her  in  trust,  ex- 
cept so  much  as  was  necessary  to  defray  their  personal  ex 
penses. 

The  elder  Booth  was  an  English  tragedian,  born  in  Lon- 
don in  the  year  1796.  During  his  minority  he  played  in 
several  of  the  provincial  English  theatres  with  moderate 
success,  and  in  1814  made  his  debut  at  Coven  t  Garden 
Theatre,  in  his  native  city  as  Richard  III.  His  per- 
sonal resemblance  to  "  that  hunch-backed  toad "  conformed 
so  well  to  the  stage-traditions,  and  his  personification  of 
the  character  was,  in  other  respects  so  striking,  that  he  at 
once  took  a  prominent  rank  in  his  profession,  and  success- 
fully competed  with  Edmund  Kean,  then  the  rising  star  of 
the  English  stage,  at  Drury  Lane  Theatre.  He  shortly  after 
played  with  Kean  at  the  Drury,  and  was  subsequently  an- 
nounced to  reappear  at  Covent  Garden.  Meantime  an  affair 
occurred  which  rendered  him  very  unpopular  with  the 
public,   and  his  reappearance  was  the   signal   for  a    serious 


68  LIFEANDMABTTRDOM 

theatrical  riot,  which  resulted  in  driving  him  temporarily 
from  the  London  stage.  We  do  not  distinctly  recollect  the 
particulars.  Jealousy,  professional  or  otherwise,  stirred  up 
the  fiery  nature  of  Booth  and  he  attempted  the  life  of  the 
obnoxious  person,  but  failed  to  take  it.  The  man  survived 
the  assault,  and  is  now  we  believe,  a  resident  of  St.  Louis. 
Booth  remained  in  England  till  about  the  year  1820,  when 
he  crossed  the  Atlantic,  and  made  his  first  professional  ap- 
pearance in  this  country  at  Petersburg,  Virginia,  and  the 
year  following  at  the  Park  Threatre,  New  York,  on  both 
of  which  occasions  he  assumed  his  favorite  role  of  "Richard 
III."  From  that  time  to  the  close  of  his  life  he  fulfilled 
engagements  in  nearly,  if  not  every  theatre  in  the  United 
States,  and  was  accounted  one  of  the  greatest  actors  of  his 
time,  though  the  range  of  characters  which  he  assumed  was 
limited,  and  was  confined  almost  exclusively  to  those  which 
he  had  studied  in  the  beginning  of  his  career.  Having  se- 
cured a  moderate  competence,  Booth  purchased  a  property 
near  Baltmore,  known  as  "  The  Farm,"  where,  during  his 
latter  years  he  resided,  making  occasional  professional  visits 
to  other  cities.  He  made  an  excursion  to  California  some- 
where about  the  year  1850,  where  he  fulfilled  a  very  lucra- 
tive engagement,  and  on  his  way  home  stopped  in  New  Or- 
leans, where  he  made  his  last  appearance  at  the  St.  Charles, 
as  Sir  Giles  Overreach,  in  "A  New  Way  to  Pay  Old  Debts." 
It  was  while  on  his  passage  from  that  city  to  Cincinnati 
that  he  died.  His  remains  were  taken  to  "The  Farm"  for 
kurial. 

Booth's  habits  were  exceedingly  irregular,  and  so  interfered 
with  his  performances  at  times  that  an  actor  less  gifted 
would   have   forfeited   his     popularity    beyond    redemption.       It 


OPABRAHAMLINCOLN.  W 

was  rarely  that  he  appeared  sober  oa  the  stage,  and,  toward 
the  close  of  his  life,  it  required  all  the  vigilance  and  art  of 
managers  to  keep  him  in  a  condition  to  appear  on  the  stage 
at  all.  The  stories  told  of  him  in  this  connection  are  in- 
numerable, and  some  of  them  extremely  ludicrous.  His  ap- 
petite for  liquor  was  absolutely  voracious.  Being  without 
money  at  one  time  in  New  York,  he  went  to  a  pawn  brok- 
er's shop,  literally  pawned  himself  for  money  to  purchase 
liquor,  was  regularly  ticketed  and  exhibited  in  a  window, 
where  he  staid  till  "redeemed"  by  a  friend.  On  another  oc- 
cason,  being  announced  to  appear  in  Philadelphia  —  at  the 
Walnut  street,  we  believe — the  manager,  on  the  day  for  the 
performance,  had  Booth  locked  up,  but  was  outwitted  by  the 
actor,  who  bribed  the  servant  to  bring  a  bottle  of  brandy,  a 
saucer  and  a  clay  pipe.  Inserting  the  pipe  through  the  key- 
hole, with  the  bowl  inverted,  the  brandy  was  poured  into 
the  saucer,  and  sucked  up  through  the  pipe  by  the  thirsty 
tragedian,  and  the  fact  was  disclosed  when  in  the  twilight 
the  manager  proceeded  there  to  conduct  him  to  the  dressing- 
room,  and  found  him  in  an  insensible  condition.  It  was  con» 
sidered  somewhat  perilous  to  play  Richmond  to  Booth's  Rich- 
ard III,  particularly  if  the  actor  was  in  liquor.  During  the 
combat  on  Bosworth  field,  he  was  apt,  in  his  excitement,  to 
consider  himself  in  reality  the  King,  and  cut  and  thrust 
with  the  earnestness  and  ferocity  of  a  man  engaged  in  au_ 
earnest  and  life-depending  trial  of  arms.  At  such  times  it 
was  necessary  to  disable  him,  and  it  was  in  one  of  these 
"crazy  spells"  that  his  face  was  disfigured  for  life  by  an  im-r 
perilled  actor,  the  bridge  of  his  nose  being  broken  by  tha 
blow   delivered   through   sheer   defence. 


10'  LIFEANDMARTTRDOM 

The  very  ludicrous  scene  -whicli  occurred  at  a  New  York 
theatre,  between  Booth  and  the  celebrated  "  fat  girl,"  of  Barnum's 
Museum,  is  probably  familiar  to  many,  and  is,  perhaps,  one  of 
the  most  amusing  incidents  in  the  annals  of  the  stage.  It  is 
very  doubtful  whether  Booth  was  insane  at  any  time  when 
not  under  the  influence  of  strong  drink.  He  was,  however,  of 
a  very  fiery  quality,  and  in  his  peculiar  sphere — the  sudden 
and  nervous  expression  of  concentrated  passion,  as  also  in  the 
more  quiet  and  subtle  passages  of  his  delineations — he  was, 
perhaps,  unsurpassed  by  any  actor  of  his  time,  and  would  have 
passed  for  crazy  if  it  were  supposed  he  was  guided  in  his 
dramatic  out-bursts  by  feeling  rather  than  artistic  skill.  On 
the  stage  the  elder  Booth,  was  convivial,  genial,  warm-hearted, 
and   as   much   loved   in   his   profession   as   he  was   admired. 

John  Wilkes  Booth — the  infamous — was  born  on  "the 
Farm,"  near  Baltimore,  Md.,  in  1838,  and  is  consequently  but 
twenty-seven  years  old.  He  made  his  first  stage  appearance 
in  1855,  at  Eichmond,  in  "  Richard  III,"  at  the  St.  Charles 
Theatre  in  Baltimore,  and  in  the  fall  of  1857,  appeared  under 
the  name  of  Wilkes  at  the  Arch-street  Theatre  in  Philadelphia 
where  he  played  stock  parts  during  the  entire  season.  The 
name  of  Wilkes  was  given  him  by  his  father,  in  honor  of 
an  old  Baltimore  friend,  Jim  Wilkes,  a  successful  merchant 
and  great  wit.  Young  Booth  next  became  a  member  of  the 
Kichmond,  Ya.,  Theatre,  improved  rapidly  in  his  profession, 
and  became  a  great  favorite  there.  During  the  season  of 
1860  and  1861  wc  find  him  engaged  still  further  South,  play- 
ing chiefly  at  Montgomery  and  Columbus,  Ga.  Probably  not 
fancying  conscription  into  the  Southern  Army,  however  much 
he   favored   the   cause,    he   escaped    North,    and    in     1861    and 


OF    ABRAHAM    LINCOLN,  11 

1862  played  in  St.  Louis,  Louisville,  and  other  western  cit- 
ies. It  was  during  the  season  following,  we  believe,  that  he 
first  appeared  in  Cincinnati,  at  Wood's  Theatre,  and  left  the 
impression,  that  though  rather  an  unequal  actor,  as  might  be 
expected  of  one  of  his  limited  experience,  he  gave  un- 
mistakable evidence  of  dramatic  talent.  He  had,  added  to 
his  native  genius,  of  a  voice  musically  full  and  rich,  a  face 
almost  classic  in  outline,  features  highly  intellectual,  a  pierc- 
ing black  eye,  capable  of  expressing  the  fiercest  and  the 
tenderest  passion  and  emotion,  and  a  commanding  figure  and 
impressive  stage  address.  In  his  transitions  from  the  quiet 
and  reflective  passages  of  a  part  too  fierce  and  violent  out- 
breaks of  passion,  his  sudden  and  impetuous  manner  had  in 
it  something  of  that  electrical  force  and  power  which  mado 
the  elder  Booth  so  celebrated,  and  called  up  afresh  to  the 
memory  of  men  of  the  last  generation,  the  presence,  voice, 
and  manner  of  his  father.  Convivial  in  his  habits,  sprightly 
and  genial  in  conversation,  John  Wilkes  made  many  acquain- 
tances and  friends  among  the  young  men  of  his  own  age  in 
the  city — an  acquaintance  that  was  renewed  during  two  sub- 
sequent engagements. 

Our  recollection  of  Booth  is  somewhat  indistinct ;  but  we 
remember  his  features  in  repose  had  rather  a  sombre  and 
melancholy  cast;  yet  under  agreeable  influence  or  emotion, 
the  expression  was  very  animated  and  glowing.  His  hair,  jet 
black  and  glossy,  curled  slightly,  set  off  in  due  relief  a 
high  intellectual  forehead  and  face  full  of  intelligence.  Both 
chin  and  nose  were  markedly  prominent,  and  the  firm  set 
lips  and  lines  about  the  mouth  indicated  firmness  of  will, 
decision,   and    resolution.     He    was    scrupulously    neat    in     his 


it  LIFEAKDMARTIRDOU 

dress,  and  selected  his  habit  with  a  rare  perception  of  what 
was  becoming  to  his  figure  and  complexion.  He  would  pass 
any  where  for  a  neatly,  but  not  overly,  dressed  man  of 
fashion. 

Of  his  political  views  very  little  was  known.  He  kept  a 
still  tongue  on  the  subject,  so  far  as  we  have  heard.  Being 
of  Southern  birth  and  education,  it  was  presumed  his  sym- 
pathies tended  in  that  direction;  but  he  exhibited  no  par- 
ticular warmth  or  zeal  for  the  Rebellion,  and  nothing  to  in- 
dicate the  remotest  desire  to  further  the  cause  b}'  so  much 
as  giving  it  pecuniary  aid,  much  less  personal  assistance.  It 
is  reported  by  a  gentleman  who  heard  the  conversation,  that 
during  his  engagement  in  Louisville  in  1862,  Booth  fell 
into  a  controversy  with  the  treasurer  of  the  theatre — a  rabid 
secessionist — while  standing  one  morning  in  the  box-oflBce. 
He  remarked  in  eifect  that  he  was  a  Southern  man,  and 
liked  the  people  of  the  South,  who  had  been  kind  to  him, 
but  he  could  not,  for  all  that,  admit  that  they  had  any 
right  or  occasion  to  secede;  that  they  had  it  all  their  own 
way  in  Congress,  and  that  if  they  insisted  on  fighting  they 
should  have  taken  the  American  flag  and  fought  under  that. 
There  is  another  story,  to  the  efi"ect  that  Booth,  while  play- 
ing an  engagement  in  Cleveland  a  year  or  more  ago,  assert- 
ed rn  a  public  bar-room  that  the  man  who  would  kill  Abra- 
ham Lincoln  would  gain  a  more  enviable  notoriety  than 
"Washington  himself.  It  is  of  course  impossible  to  say  whether 
these   reported   sayings   are    apocryphal    or    not. 

The  last  appearance  of  Booth  on  the  stage  (except  at 
one  or  two  benefits  in  "Washington),  was  at  the  "Winter  Gar- 
den,  New   York;   and,  in    conjunction   with   his   brothers,    Ed- 


OFABRAHAMLIXCOLN.  73 

win  and  Junius  Brutus,  in  the  play  of  "Julius  Caesar,"  for 
the  benefit  of  the  Shakespeare  Monument  Fund.  He  was, 
we  believe,  to  have  played  with  them  again  at  the  same 
theatre,  on  the  22d  of  April,  for  the  benefit  of  the 
same  fund.  The  play  selected  was  "Romeo  and  Juliet",  the 
cast  of  the  Booths  being — John  Wilkes  as  Borneo,  Edwin  as 
Mercutio,   and   Junius   as   Friar   Lawrence. 

As  the  public  journals  have  been  and  are  still  filled  with 
paragraphs  concerning  Booth's  connection  with  the  oil  busi- 
ness, it  may  prove  interesting  to  learn  that  the  War  De- 
partment have  thoroughly  examined  this  matter,  and  the  fol- 
lowing  are   the   facts   established : 

"  J.  Wilkes  Booth  never  was  in  the  oil  regions  of  Penn,- 
sylvania  but  07ice,  and  that  was  last  summer.  He  stayed  two 
days  at  the  Petroleum  House  in  Oil  City,  and  then  started, 
as  he  said,  for  New  York.  He  is  traced  to  Salamanca  and 
thence  to  Buffalo,  whence  it  is  supposed  he  went  into  Canada. 
He  never  purchased  a  single  barrel  of  oil  anywhere  in  the 
whole  oil  territory  of  this  State,  never  purchased,  owned  or 
rented  a  lease,  well,  or  parcel  of  ground  in  the  State.  Not 
a  single  oil  company  is  yet  found  in  which  he  ever  held  a 
single  share  or  interest  of  any  kind !  Not  a  solitary  indi- 
vidual can  be  found  who  ever  sold  him  anything,  or  traded 
or  bartered  with  him  for  anything  in  the  oil  regions.  And 
the  most  singular  circumstance  is  that  not  a  single  individual 
can  be  found  in  the  oil  regions  of  Pennsylvania  who  ever 
met  Booth   here   and   knew   him  at  the  time ! 

BOSTON    CO  RBETT. 
Boston   Corbett,    the   hero    of    Booth's   capture,   was   born   in 
London,    England.'     He   was   brought    to    New    York    by    hia 


T4  LIFEANDMARTYRDOM 

father,  at  eigth  years  of  age.  He  subsequently  went  to  Bos- 
ton, where  he  was  baptized  a  member  of  the  Methodist 
Church.  He  says,  at  that  time  desiring  to  lead  a  new  life,  he 
changed  his  former  given  name  and  was  baptized  "Boston." 
His  subsequent  residence  has  been  in  New  York,  when  he 
enlisted  in  the  16th  Cavalry.  He  is  as  modest  as  he  is  de- 
voted, and  his  lieutenant  pronounces  him  a  most  worthy  sol- 
dier. He  was  offered  one  of  Booth's  pistols  by  the  detect- 
ives as  a  momento  of  the  occasion ;  but  he  declined  it  say- 
ing, he  desired  no  reminder  of  the  sad  duty  he  had  to  per- 
form, and  desired  to  have  it  banished  from  his  mind  as  soon 
as  possible.  He  was  recently  offered  one  hundred  dollars 
for  his  own  pistol  with  which  he  killed  Booth ;  but  he  in- 
stantly replied,  "That  is  not  mine — it  belongs  to  the  Govern- 
ment, and  I  would  not  sell  it  for  any  price."  Being  spoken 
to  about  the  large  reward,  he  replied  he  desired  no  reward 
for  having  done  what  God  made  manifest  to  him,  in  answer 
to  prayer,  was  his  duty  to  do.  He  remarked,  however,  that 
if  the  Government  wished  to  reward  him,  and  would  allow 
him  to  keep  his  little  horse,  when  his  term  of  service  was 
over,   it   would   be   all   he   could   wish. 

PURSUIT    AND    CAPTURE. 

The  first  traces  of  Booth  were  discovered  by  Col.  Baker, 
who  recently  made  the  successful  raid  on  the  bounty  jump- 
ers and  brokers  of  Xew  York  city.  It  appears  that  Booth's 
leg  was  fractured  in  jumping  from  the  President's  box.  Upon 
mounting  his  horse  he  proceeded  toward  the  lower  counties 
of  Maryland,  after  being  joined  by  Harrold  who  was  intimate- 
ly  acquainted  with     the    swamps     and    biding    places    of    that 


\ 


OPABRAHAMLINCOLN.  T5 

region.  At  first,  Booth  scarcely  noticed  his  leg;  but  after 
riding  a  few  miles,  the  pain  became  so  intense  that  he  went 
to  the  house  of  Dr.  Mudd,  in  Charles  county,  and  had  it 
set  at  3  o'clock  in  the  morning  of  Sunday,  April  16th,  the 
second  day  after  the  murder  of  the  President.  Dr.  Mudd 
split  Booth's  boot  open  to  get  it  off,  and  when  he  left  the 
doctor  gave  him  a  pair  of  crutches,  and  it  is  supposed  he 
left  in  an  easterly  direction  from  the  neighborhood  of  Bry- 
antown.  They  then  reached  Turner's,  about  five  miles  from 
Bryantown,  and  while  taking  some  refreshments,  the  servant 
was  sent  to  inform  the  neighbors  of  their  presence,  Booth 
having  been  recognized.  They  discovered  the  dilemma  they 
were  in,  and  seizing  the  food  on  the  table,  decamped  and 
took  refuge  in  the  swamps  and  underbrush.  Some  lady  in 
Maryland  presented  Booth  with  a  buffalo  robe  which  was 
consumed  in  the  fire  at  Garrett's  barn,  in  which  he  was 
captured.  Col.  Baker's  force  traced  him  to  Dr.  Mudd'g 
house,  and  the  doctor  was  arrested  by  the  military,  with 
one  of  Booth's  boots  in  his  possession,  which  had  Booth's 
name  in  it.  The  doctor  was  immediately  taken  to  Washing- 
ton. 

Learnins;  that  no  traces  of  him  could  be  found  after  his 
departure  from  the  house  of  Dr.  Mudd,  near  Port  Tobacco, 
where  his  fractured  leg  was  set.  Col.  Baker  became  satisfied 
that  Booth  must  have  crossed  the  Potomac  and  escaped  into 
Virginia,  at,  or  near,  Aquia  Creek.  He  therefore  procured  an 
order  for  General  Hancock  to  furnish  him  twenty-six  picked 
cavalrymen  to  act  as  an  escort  to  his  brother.  Lieutenant 
Baker,  and  Lieutenant  Colonel  Conger,  who  were  to  conduct 
them   upon   a   route   which   a   cardTul    consultation  of    the    map 


T6  LIFE      AND      MARTYRDOM 

of  Virginia  had  indicated  as  the  one  most  likely  to  be  taken 
by  Booth.  They  proceeded  down  the  river  to  Belle  Plain, 
in  the  steamer  Ides,  and  thence  disembarking,  rode  across  to 
a  point  opposite  Port  Royal  on  the  Rappahannock.  Here  waa 
a  scow  ferry,  and  the  ferryman  was  critically  questioned  as 
to  the  passage  of  any  such  party  as  Booth  and  Harrold. 
The  Virginia  ferryman  could  remember  nothing  of  such  per- 
sons ;  but  while  Lieutenant  Baker  was  exhibiting  Booth's  pho- 
tograph with  the  view  of  refreshing  his  memory,  a  darker  col- 
ored but  more  loyal  Virginian,  employed  as  an  assistant  on 
the  ferry,  happened  to  see  the  photograph  over  the  detec- 
tive's shoulder,  and  instantly  replied,  "Yes,  master,  I  knows 
dat  man,  I  set  um  across  de  river  t'other  day,  wid  three 
Oder  men,  in  two  boss  wagon."  The  white  proprietor  could 
remember  nothing  whatever,  yet  the  trail  was  deemed  good. 
At  Port  Eoyal  they  took  the  Bowling  Green  Road,  and  pass- 
ed the  farm  bouse  of  the  Garretts,  which,  being  about  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  from  the  road  they  passed,  and  rode  on 
several  miles.  This  was  about  3  o'clock,  A.  M.  They  met 
another  colored  Virginian,  however,  and  from  him  learned 
that  a  party,  such  as  was  inquired  for,  was  left  at  Mr.  Gar- 
rett's two  days  before,  by  two  rebel  oflacers.  The  party  then 
wheeled  and  returned  to  Garrett's  house.  Lieutenant  Baker 
dismounted  and  demanded  admittance  and  the  surrender  of 
Booth.  The  senior  Garrett  denied  all  knowledge  of  Booth ; 
but  seeing  Baker  manipulate  his  revolver,  bethought  him  of 
two  Confederate  soldiers  who  had  been  stopping  at  his  house, 
one  of  whom  was  wounded.  He  pretended  he  knew  nothing 
of  their  names ;  he  said  they  had  been  apprised  that  the 
Union  cavalry  was  about  and  had  left  the   house,  demanding 


OF    ABRAHAM    LINCOLN.  It 

his  horses  and  saying  they  must  get  away ;  but  he  (Gar- 
rett) stoutly  refused  to  let  his  horses  go,  fearing,  he  said, 
he  should  never  get  them  again.  So  Booth  and  Harrold 
fled  to  the  barn,  and  Garrett  sent  his  son  to  watch  the 
baim  to  see  that  they  did  not  steal  the  horses,  and  that 
he  was  at  that  moment  hiding  in  the  corn-house  adjoining 
the  barn.  This  was  found  to  be  as  stated.  Lieutenant  Ba- 
ker then  went  to  the  barn  door  and  knocked  heavily  with 
his  revolver  upon  the  door,  shouting  out,  "Booth,  Booth." 
After  a  protracted  silence,  Baker  continued  the  knocking 
and  calling — Booth  came  to  the  door  and  asked,  "Who  are 
you,  and  what  do  you  want  ?  Are  you  Confederate  or  Yan- 
kee?" Baker  replied,  giving  his  name,  when  Booth  de- 
clared he  would  shoot  the  first  man  who  attempted  to  enter 
the  barn. 

When  challenged  to  come  out  and  surrender,  he,  in  a  very 
wild  and  excited  tone,  demanded  to  know  who  they  supposed 
him  to  be  and  by  what  authority,  desiring  to  know  of  what 
crime  he  was  charged,  and  evincing  the  greatest  excitement 
and  talking  very  incoherently.  The  officers  demanded  him  to 
come  forth  and  give  himself  up.  He  refused  to  do  so  and 
threatened  to  shoot  whoever  should  approach.  He  said  he 
was  alone  there,  but  he  would  never  surre'nder.  Sergeant 
Boston  Corbett  was  stationed  at  a  corner  of  the  barn  where 
there  was  a  board  off,  and  where  he  was  exposed  to  Booth's 
fire.  He  expressed  a  desire  to  go  in  and  secure  him,  saying 
he  was  willing  to  venture  his  life  in  the  encounter  and  had 
much  rather  go  in  and  attack  him  than  to  stand  in  his  ex- 
posed position ;  but  it  was  so  evident  that  Booth  meant  to 
sell  his  life  as  dearly  as  possible,  that  Lieutenant  Doherty 
would  not  permit  him  to  enter.     The   officers   then  gave  Booth 


78  LIFE    AND    MARTYRDOM 

five  minutes  to  surrender  or  else  the  barn  would  be  fired. 
Nearly  a  half  hour  was  consumed  in  the  parley,  however, 
when  fire  was  set  to  the  barn.  During  the  progress  of  the 
flames  Booth  was  seen  by  Corbett,  aiming  his  Spencer  car- 
bine at  one  of  the  men.  Corbett,  who  is  a  deeply  religious 
man,  ^says  he  prayed  fervently  for  Booth,  and  that  God 
would  have  mercy  upon  his  soul,  and  feeling  that  he  was 
justified  in  shooting  him  to  prevent  the  possible  death  of 
another  innocent  man,  approached  the  crack  in  the  barn  lev- 
eled his  revolver  and  fired.  His  shot,  by  a  strange  coinci- 
dence, entered  his  head  in  almost  precisely  the  same  spot 
that  President  Lincoln  was  shot;  the  ball  passed  through 
and  out  of  the  upper  part  of  the  neck  on  the  opposite  side. 
Booth  instantly  fell,  and  his  carbine  dropped  heavily  with 
him.  He  was  standing  at  the  time  supported  by  a  crutch  ; 
his  body  was  immediately  removed  from  the  burning  barn. 
This  took  place  just  at  daybreak  of  the  26th  of  April,  and 
he   lived    till    almost   seven   o'clock. 

Booth  and  Harrold  reached  Garrett's  on  the  ■24th,  Booth 
walking  on  crutches.  A  party  of  four  or  five  accompanied 
them  who  spoke  of  Booth  as  a  wounded  Marylander  on  his 
way  home,  and  that  they  wished  to  leave  him  there  a  short 
time,  and  they  would  take  him  away  by  the  20th.  Booth 
limped  somewhat  and  walked  on  crutches  about  the  place 
complaining  of  his  ankle.  He  and  Harrold  regularly  took 
their  meals  at  the  house,  and  both  kept  up  appearances  well. 
One  day  at  the  dinner  table  the  conversation  turned  on  the 
assassination  of  the  President,  when  Booth  denounced  the 
crime  in  the  strongest  terms,  saying  that  there  was  no  pun- 
ishment severe  enough  for  the  perpetrator.  At  another  time, 
some   one   said   in  Booth's  presence  that    rewards    amounting   to 


OF     ABRAHAM     LINCOLN.  79 

$200,000  had  been  oflfered  for  Booth,  and  that  he  would  like 
to  catch  him,  when  Booth  replied,  •'  Yes,  it  would  be  a 
good  haul,  but  the  amount  will  doubtless  soon  be  increased 
to  $500,000."  The  Garretts,  who  lived  on  the  place,  allege 
that  they  had  no  idea  that  these  parties,  Booth  and  Har- 
rold,  were  any  other  than  what  their  friends  represented  them 
— paroled  Confederate  soldiers  on  their  way  home.  They 
also  say,  that  when  the  cavalry  appeared  in  that  neighbor- 
hood and  they  heard  they  weie  looking  for  the  assassins  that 
they  sent  word  to  them  that  these  two  men  were  on  the 
place.  In  other  words  they  assert  that  they  are  entirely  in- 
nocent of  giving  the  assassins  any  aid  and  comfort,  knowing 
them   to   be  such. 

Another  account  says,  that  the  detachment  of  the  16th 
New  York  Cavalry  under  Lieutenant  Doherty,  numbering 
twenty-eight  men  and  accompanied  by  two  of  Colonel  Baker's 
detective  force,  which  went  down  the  river  on  Monday  even- 
ing, obtained  the  first  news  of  Booth  at  Port  Royal  on  Tues- 
day evening,  from  an  old  man  who  stated  that  four  men  in 
company  with  a  rebel  captain,  had  crossed  the  Rappahannock 
a  short  time  previous  going  in  the  direction  of  Bowling 
Green,  and  he  added  that  the  captain  would  probably  be 
found  in  that  place,  as  he  was  courting  a  lady  there.  On 
pushing  on  to  Bowling  Green  the  captain  was  found  at  the 
hotel  and  taken  into  custody.  From  him  it  was  ascertained 
that  Booth  and  Harrold  were  at  the  house  of  John  &  Will- 
iam Garrett,  three  miles  back  toward  Port  Royal,  and  about 
a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  the  road  passed  over  by  the  cavalry. 
In  the  meantime,  it  appears  that  Booth  and  Harrold  applied 
to   Garrett   for*  horses    to  ride  to    Louisa  Court  House,  but  the 


80  LIFE     AX D     MARTYRDOM 

latter  fearing  the  horses  would  not  be  returned,  refused  tc 
hire  them  notwithstanding  the  large  sums  offered.  These  cir- 
cumstances, together  with  the  re-criminations  of  Booth  and 
Harrold,  each  charging  the  other  with  the  responsibility  of 
their  difficulties,  had  aroused  the  suspicions  of  the  Garrett 
brothers  who  urged  Booth  and  Harrold  to  leave  lest  they 
(the  Garretts)  should  get  into  trouble  with  the  cavalry.  This 
Booth  refused  to  do  without  a  horse,  and  the  two  men  re- 
tired to  a  barn  the  door  of  which,  after  they  had  entered 
Garrett  locked,  and  remained  himself  on  guard  in  a  neighbor- 
ing corn-crib,  as  he  states,  to  prevent  the  horses  from  being 
taken  and  ridden  off  in  the  night  by  Booth  and  Harrold. 
Upon  the  approach  of  the  cavalry  from  Bowling  Green,  about 
three  o'clock  on  Wednesday  morning,  the  Garretts  came  out 
of  the  corn-crib  to  meet  them,  and  in  answer  to  their  inqui- 
ries directed  them  to  the  barn.  Booth  was  at  once  sum- 
moned to  surrender  but  refused.  Harrold  expressed  his  wil- 
lingness to  give  himself  up  but  was  overruled  by  Booth  for 
some  time ;  he  finally  surrendered,  leaving  Booth  in  the  barn. 
The  latter  then  assuming  a  defiant  air  called  out  to  know 
the  commanding  officer,  and  proposed  to  him  that  his  men 
should  be  drawn  up  at  fifty  yards  distance,  when  he  would 
come  out  and  fight  them.  After  the  barn  had  been  burning 
three  quarters  of  an  hour,  and  when  the  roof  was  about  fall- 
ing in  Booth  who  had  been  standing  with  a  revolver  in  one 
hand  and  a  carbine  resting  on  the  floor  made  a  demonstra- 
tion as  if  to  break  through  the  guard  and  escape.  To  pre- 
vent this  Sergeant  Corbutt  fired  intending  to  hit  Booth  in 
the  shoulder  so  as  to  cripple  him.  The  ball  however,  struck 
a  little    too   high,   and   entered   the   neck,    resulting    fatally    as 


OFABRAHAMLINCOLN.  81 

before  stated.  In  his  leather  belt  -which  he  wore,  was  found 
the  dirk  which  he  so  tragically  brandished  upon  the  stage, 
with  clotted  blood  dried  upon  its  blade.  This  knife,  his  car- 
bine and  two  revolvers  which  he  also  had  upon  his  person, 
^holding  one  in  each  hand  at  the  time  of  being  shot,  and 
while  aiming  his  carbine,  were  all  taken  to  Washington  with 
iis    body. 

Booth's  confederate  and  companion  Harrold  came  out  of 
tie  barn  at  the  first  fire  in  an  excited  state  of  friglit  and 
professed  contrition  with  his  arms  upraised.  He  also  audibly 
besought  Booth  to  surrender,  without  avail  however.  Booth 
in  his  forced  hauteur  shouted  out  just  before  Harrold  left 
him,  "  Here  captain  is  one  man  who  wants  to  surrender 
mighty  bad."  He  had  but  a  moment  previous  insisted  that 
no  one  was  in  the  barn  with  him.  Harrold  is  pronounced  a 
mean  cowardly  boy.  He  said  he  wished  J.  Wilkes  Booth  had 
been  dead  before  he  had  ever  seen  him,  and  then  remarked 
with  a  silly  tone  and  action,  "  He  always  liked  Mr.  Lincoln 
and  was  very  fond  of  his  jokes."  Harrold  was  taken  to  Wash- 
ington  and   confined  among  the  other  prisoners. 

Booth,  before  he  died,  was  apparently  rational,  but  talked 
at  random,  and  contradicted  himself  as  he  had  done 
throughout,  and  said,  "Tell  my  Mother,  I  have  died  for  my 
country.  You  gentlemen  have  spoiled  my  fun  in  Mexico." 
He  seemed  conscious  of  the  near  approach  of  death,  but 
died  as  frivilous  and  hardened  as  he  had  lived.  His  body 
■was  fully  identified  by  his  initials  on  bis  hand,  in  India 
ink — his  memorandum  books  and  other  papers,  and  by  the 
personal  recognition,  before  and  after  death,  of  the  detec- 
tive officers  who  knew  him.  He  had  his  moustache  shaved 
6 


82  LIFE    AND    MARTYRDOM 

off  and  had  a  uniform  beard  of  four  or  five  days.  He 
wore  a  gray  woolen  shirt ;  had  on  dark  cassimere  jiants ;  one 
cavahy  or  theatre  top  boot  which  drew  up  above  the 
knee,  but  was  turned  down  when  captured.  On  the  other 
foot  he  had  an  old  shoe.  His  leg  was  bandaged  where  it 
was  broken.  Harrold  said  Booth  had  a  third  revolver 
which  was  burned  up  in  the  barn.  Booth  wanted  to  know 
where  they  would  take  him  if  he  would  give  himself  up. 
He  was  informed  by  the  detectives  that  he  must  make  an 
unconditional  surrender.  He  is  said  to  have  showered  im- 
precations upon  his  confederates,  who,  he  said,  had  promised 
to   stand  by  him   but   had   all  deserted   him. 

Booth  was  brought  to  the  house  of  Mr.  Garrett  by  a 
Confederate  Captain,  who  told  Mr.  Garrett  that  he  was  a 
Marylander  who  was  endeavoring  to  make  his  way  to 
Johnston's  army.  Several  small  squads  of  rebel  cavalry 
were  seen  hovering  about,  and  were  no  doubt  attempting 
to  cover   his    escape. 

Booth  had  $105  in  greenbacks,  and  sundry  Canadian  bills 
of  exchange,  dated  last  October.  His  hair  was  badly  matted 
— his  clothing  soiled — and  the  body  looked  more  like  that 
of  a   dirt  bearer  than  that  of  the   whilom   fop. 

Harrold  said  he  was  outside  the  theatre  on  horse  back, 
awaiting  Booth's  coming  out,  on  the  night  of  the  murder 
— that  some  how  Booth  got  out  and  passed  him  without 
his  seeing  him,  and  that  he  galloped  four  miles  across 
the  Anacosta  bridge,  before  he  overtook  Booth.  He  said 
Booth  injured  his  leg  by  jumping  on  the  stage  and  not 
by  falling  off  his  horse — that  they  changed  their  intended 
course  and  rode   directly  to    the    house  of  Dr.   Mudd,  near 


OP    ABRAHAM    LINCOLN.  ^ 

Port  Tobacco,  to  have  his  leg  cared  for ;  but  they  secret- 
ed themselves  thereabout  several  days — saw  the  scouts  pass 
and  re-pass,  and  finally  got  across  the  Potomac  by  paying 
three  hundred  dollars  for  an  old  scow.  Booth  and  Harrold 
narrowly  escaped  capture  on  the  Maryland  side  of  the  Po- 
tomac. Marshal  Murray  and  a  posse  of  New  York  detec- 
tives, tracked  them  to  within  a  short  distance  of  Swain 
Point;  but  the  Marshal  being  unacquainted  with  the  coun 
try,  and  without  a  guide,  during  the  darkness  of  the  night, 
took  the  wrong  road,  and  before  he  could  regain  the  trail, 
Booth  and  Harrold  succeeded  in  crossing  the  river  to  Vir- 
ginia. 

After  the  death  of  Booth,  his  body  was  placed  in  a 
cart  and  convej^ed  across  to  Belle  Plain,  to  the  steamer 
Ides,  which  awaited  the  return  of  the  party,  and  brought 
to  Washington.  The  two  Garretts,  who  were  paroled  sol- 
diers of  Lee's  army,  and  had  just  returned  home,  were 
brought  up  as  prisoners  also.  Harrold,  and  Booth's  body 
were  safely  lodged  on  a  gunboat,  at  Washington,  on  the 
27th  of  April,  and  the  Garretts  placed  in  the  Old  Cap- 
itol. 

Surgeon  General  Barnes  held  an  autopsy  upon  Booth's 
body,  on  the  27th.  The  smaller  bone  of  his  left  leg  was 
badly  fractured-7-one  of  the  smaller  arteries  ruptured — and 
the  leg  badly  swollen.  The  ball  entered  the  left  side  of 
the  upper  section  of  the  neck,  passing  out  on  the  oppo- 
site  side. 


84  LIFEJlNDMARTTRDOM 


ATTACK  ON  SECRETARY  SEWARD. 


Lewis  Paine,  tLe  person  who  made  tlie  attempt  on  the  life 
of  Secretary  Seward,  gained  admittance  to  the  house  by  repre- 
senting himself  as  one  sent  there  with  a  prescription.  When 
near  the  room  in  which  Mr.  Seward  was  lying,  he  was  met 
by  Frederick  W.  Seward,  who  demanded  who  he  was  and 
what  he  wanted  ;  Payne  made  no  reply,  but  striking  him 
a  blow  with  the  butt  of  a  pistol  and  cutting  him  with  a 
knife,  rushed  into  the  room,  he  made  his  way  to  the  bedside 
of  Mr.  Seward,  who  was  lying  on  a  low  couch  with  his  head 
inclined  to  the  right.  The  thrusts  of  the  knife  were  received 
in  the  cheek  and  neek.  Mr.  Seward's  attendant  came  in- 
stantly to  his  aid,  and  the  assailant  thinking  probably  he 
had  completed  his  work,  grappled  with  him.  The  tussle  was 
of  some  minutes  duration,  during  which  time  the  attendant 
received  some  very  severe  wounds.  From  loss  of  blood  he 
Bank  to  the  floor,  and  Payne  endeavored  to  escape.  He  was 
met  at  the  door  by  Augustus  H.  Seward,  whom  he  struck 
with  his  knife,  inflicting  a  dangerous  wound.  His  eff"orts  to 
escape  were  further  arrested,  but  he  seems  to  have  become 
inspired  with  desparation,  and  all  who  met  him  on  his  way 
out   of  the   house,   felt    the   keen   edge   of  his   blade. 

Payne   after   leaving  Mr.    Seward's    house,    rode    out    of   the 


OF     ABRAHAM     LINCOLN.  85 

city  with  all  possible  speed.  After  going  some  distance  he 
dismounted  and  disguising  himself  as  best  he  could,  returned 
to  the  city.  Pretending  to  be  a  laboring  man,  and  with  a 
pick  on  his  shoulder  he  proceeded  to  the  residence  of  Mrs. 
Surratt.  It  was  now  nearly  daylight  and  the  officers  had  tak- 
en  possession   of  the   house. 

Knocking  at  the  door  which  was  opened  by  an  officer,  he 
was  admitted  but  was  surprised  and  disconcerted  at  finding 
himself  overpowered.  His  replies  to  questions  put  to  him 
were  incoherent,  and  satisfied  the  officers  of  his  complicity  in 
the   murderous   transactions   of  the   night. 


SKETCHES. 


PAYNE. 

Payne  is  shown  to  have  been  the  confederate  of  Booth,  and 
the  one  who  assaulted  with  intent  to  kill  Secretary  Seward,  Fred- 
erick W.  Seward,  Augustus  H.  Seward,  Emerick  N.  Hansell  and 
George  F.  Robinson.  The  antecedents  of  Payne  are  not  known, 
and  the  first  of  him  is  his  appearance  at  the  house  of  Mrs.  Surratt 
in  the  early  part  of  March  last,  when  he  stated  that  his 
name  W98  Wood.  He  called  for  John  H.  Surratt  but  in  his 
absence  he  asked  for  Mrs.  Surratt.  He  lodged  there  that  night, 
taking  his  meals  in  his  room,  and  departed  the  next  day.  About 
the  same  time  he  took  a  room  in  company  with  O'Laughlin  in  a 
boarding  house  in  D  street,  where  Booth  visited  them  frequently. 
Here    O'Laughlin   and   Payne   remained   about   three   weeks. 

Afterwards  Payne  put  up  two  or  three  days  at  Surratt's,  where 
John  H.  Surratt,  Atzeroth,  Booth  and  himself  had  secret  consul- 
tations. On  this  second  visit  Payne  represented  to  some  of  the 
members  of  the  family  that  he  was  a  Baptist  preacher.  He  and 
Surratt  were  found  at  one  time  in  the  bedroom  playing  with  bowie 
knives.  In  this  same  room  were  two  revolvers,  and  four  sets  of 
spurs  similar  to  the  revolvers  and  spur  found  in  Atzeroth's 
room  at  the  Kirkwood  House.  At  another  time  just  before  the 
assassination  he   was  found  occupying  a   room   at  Herndon. 

(86) 


OF    ABKAHAM    LINCOLN.  87 

/ 

HARROLD. 

Harrold  is  a  young  man  less  than  twenty-five  years  of  age, 
a  native  of  Washingtoji,  formerly  a  druggist's  clerk  in  that 
city,  but  for  some  months  without  any  known  means  of  sup- 
port though  during  that  time  apparently  well  supplied  with  money 
He  has  frequently  been  in  St.  Mary's  county,  Maryland,  always 
taking  his  gun  with  him.  On  the  night  of  the  assassination  he 
was  seen  at  the  livery  stable  with  Booth,  and  the  evidence 
obtained  before  the  court  shows  him  to  have  been  Booth's 
accomplice.  It  is  shown  by  the  evidence  that  he  was  several 
times  discovered  in  secret  meetings  with  Booth,  Atzeroth  and 
others  of  the  conspiracy.  He  was  found  at  Mrs.  Surratt's  in 
company  with  them.  Accompanied  by  Surratt  and  Atzeroth 
he  called  at  the  tavern  in  Surrattsville  and  left  the  two  car- 
bines, the  ammunition,  &c.,  which  were  taken  from  that 
place  by  him  and  Booth  on  the  night  of  the  assassination.  Dur- 
ing their  flight  he  acknowledged  to  Confederate  soldiers  that 
he  and  Booth  were  the  assassins  of  the  President.  There  is  no 
doubt  whatever  of  his  guilt,  and  we  trust  he  will  suffer  the 
penalty  of  his  crime  as  it  shall  be  defined  by  the  commis- 
sion. 

ATZEROTH. 

Atzeroth  like  Harrold  is  proven  to  have  been  a  co-conspi- 
rator. He  made  his  first  appearance  at  Mrs.  Surratt's  in  the 
early  part  of  February,  where  he  inquired  for  John  H.  Surratt 
or  Mrs.  Surratt,  and  was  frequently  found  in  secret  communi- 
cation with  Booth  and  his  confederates.  To  him  was  assigned 
the  murder  of  President  Johnson  at  the  Kirkwood  house.  It 
does  not  appear  however  that  he  made  any  effort  to  get  access 


88  LIFEANDMARTYRDOM 

to  his  intended  victim  on  the  evening  of  the  14th  of  April. 
On  the  morning  of  that  day,  he  took  a  room  at  Kirkwood's,  and 
was  seen  there  at  noon,  and  about  six  o'clock  in  the  evening. 
He  was  traced  there  on  horseback,  but  was  not  apparently 
about  the  house  after  that  hour.  He  proved  false  to  his 
confederates.  He  was  active  in  his  co-operation  with  them 
however  throughout  the  night  and  fled  at  daylight  the  next 
morning;   of  his   guilt   there   is   not  a   shadow   of  doubt. 

MRS.     SURRATT. 

This  worthy,  it  appears,  was  cognizant  of  the  intended  crime 
almost  from  its  inception,  and  became  an  active  participant  in 
every  overt  act.  She  was  a  general  manager,  and  received 
and  entertained  at  her  house  all  the  criminals  except  Dr. 
Mudd,  O'Laughlin  and  Arnold.  With  Dr.  Mudd  she  planned 
the  means  and  assistance  for  the  escape  of  the  assassins. 
She  visited  Mudd  at  five  o'clock  on  the  day  of  the  assas- 
sination, to  see  that  the  carbines,  &c.,  should  be  in  readiness 
and  informed  him  that  they  would  be  called  for  that  night. 
Booth  frequently  called  at  her  house  and  had  long  interviews 
with  her.  He  was  with  her  in  the  afternoon  of  the  four- 
teenth. 

DR.    MUDD. 

Dr.  Mudd's  status  is  identical  with  the  foregoing.  Last  Novem- 
ber he  is  shown  to  have  been  in  the  confidence  of  Booth.  Ho 
had  a  meeting  with  Surratt  and  Booth  at  the  National  Hotel 
in  January.  He  introduced  Booth  to  Surratt.  Booth  visited 
him  at  his  room  in  the  Pennsylvania  House.  When  the  as- 
sassins fled  to  his  house  he  dressed  Booth's  wound  and 
assisted  in   the  escape   of  Booth   and   Harrold. 


0  OFABRAHAMLINCOLN.  89 

When  the  officers  called  at  his  house,  Thursday  after  the 
assassination,  he  denied  that  he  knew  either  of  the  criminals, 
and  at  the  time  of  his  arrest  on  the  Friday  following,  ho 
prevaricated,  but  finally  admitted  outright  that  he  knew  Booth. 
He  says  he  first  heard  of  the  assassination  on  the  Sunday 
after  it  was  committed  at  church,  and  it  is  shown  that  he 
was  in  Bryantown  on  the  preceding  Saturday  at  the  time  when 
the  excitement  was  at  the  highest  pitch,  the  town  guarded 
by  soldiers,  and  every  man,  woman  or  child  in  the  place  had  , 
not  only  heard  of  the  murder,  but  knew  the  name  of  the 
assassin.  It  remains  to  be  seen  what  punishment  the  com- 
mission  will  inflict   upon    him. 


SPANGLER. 

Spangler  does  not  appear  to  haVe  been  in  the  conspiracy 
at  an  earlier  period  than  a  few  hours  before  the  commission 
of  the  crime.  If  he  be  guilty  his  participation  would  seem 
to  have  been  in  preparing  the  means  of  escape  by  keeping 
the  passage-way  clear  on  the  stage,  and  by  closing  the  door 
after  Booth  had  passed  through,  so  as  to  retard  the  move- 
ments of  pursuers.  He  knew  the  purpose  of  Booth,  and 
promised   a   few  minutes  before  the  murder  to  help  the  assassin. 


O'LAUGHLIN. 

O'Laughlin  is  shown  to  have  been  in  some  kind  of  conspir- 
acy with  Booth.  He  was  assigned  to  murder  General  Grant, 
but  whether  he  failed  through  lack  of  courage  or  from  dis- 
inclination does  not  appear.  Atzeroth  remarked  the  next  day, 
■when   it  had   been   reported   that  General   Grant  had  been  shot 


90  LIFE    AKD    MARTYRDOM 

that  "probably  it  is  the  fact  if  he  was  followed  by  the  man 
that  was  to  do  it.  It  is  said  he  withdrew  from  the  conspiracy 
on   Friday   the   day   of  the   assassination. 

ARNOLD. 

Arnold  it  is  stated  quarrelled  with  Booth  and  withdrew 
from  the  conspiracy  and  went  to  Fortress  Monroe,  where  he 
was  prior   to   and   On   the   fourteenth   of  April. 


THE    OBSEQUIES. 


On  the  morning  of  the  15th  of  April,  at  half-past  nine, 
the  President's  body  was  removed  from  the  private  residence 
opposite  Ford's  Theatre  to  the  Executive  Mansion,  in  a 
hearse  and  wrapped  in  the  America  flag.  It  was  escorted 
by  a  small  guard  of  cavalry.  Gen.  Augur  and  other  mili- 
tary   officers    followed  on   foot. 

A  dense  crowd  accompanied  the  remains  to  the  White 
House,  where  a  military  guard  excluded  the  crowd,  allow- 
ing none  but  persons  of  the  household  and  personal  friends 
of   the   deceased   to   enter  the   premises. 

Flags  over  the  Departments  and  throughout  the  city 
were  at  half  mast.  Scarcely  any  business  was  transacted 
anywhere,  either  on  private  or  public  account.  Our  citi- 
zens, without  any  preconcert  whatever,  draped  their  pre- 
mises with  festoons  of  mourning.  The  bells  tolled  mourn- 
fully, all  was  the  deepest  gloom  and  sadness.  Strong  men 
wept  in  the  streets.  The  grief  was  wide-spread  and  deep, 
and  in  strange  contrast  to  the  joy  that  had  been  mani- 
fested over  our  recent  military  victories.  That  day  was 
indeed  a  day  of  gloom. 

The  body  was   embalmed,   with   a  view  to   its   removal  to 

Illinois,  and  laid    out    in    the   room  known    as    the   "guests' 
91 


92  LIFEANDMAETTRDOM 

room,"  in  Jthe  north-west  wing  of  the  White  House.  It 
was  dressed  in  the  suit  of  black  clothes  worn  by  him  at 
his  late  inauguration.  The  catafalque  upon  which  the 
body  rested  was  placed  in  the  south  part  of  the  east 
room,  and  was  somewhat  similar  in  style  to  that  used  on 
the    occasion    of   the   death   of   President   Harrison. 

THE  FUNERAL  AT  WASHINGTON. 

On  the  18th  the  obsequies  of  the  late  President,  at  the 
Executive  Mansion,  were  of  the  most  imposing  and  solemn 
character.  The  pi-ocession  was  very  large,  and  in  its  line 
were  many  of  the  most  eminent  citizens  of  the  republic, 
civil,  military  and  naval,  including  President  Johnson,  Gen- 
eral Grant,  Vice  Admiral  Farragut,  the  members  of  the 
Cabinet,  Senators,  Representatives,  Governors  of  States  and 
numerous  others  of  distinction.  The  Foreign  Powers  were 
also  represented  by  their  Ministers.  The  route  of  the  pro- 
cession was  densely  thronged  by  thousands  of  spectators. 
Not  an  incident  occurred  to  mar  the  solemnity  of  the 
august  spectacle. 

The  procession  moved  from  the  "White  House  at  2  o'clock 
P.  M.,  and  so  great  was  its  length  that  when  the  van 
reached  the  Capital  the  rear  was  still  at  Willard's  Hotel, 
nearly  a  mile   long. 

The  military  portion  of  the  procession  was  swelled  by 
various  civic  associations  from  Washington  and  other  cities, 
and  a  large  number  of  State  delegations.  New  York^ 
Pennsylvania,  Massachusetts,  Connecticut,  New  Hampshire, 
Ohio,  Illinois,  Indiana,  Maryland,  West  Virginia,  and  seve- 
ral other   States   were  represented  by  large   delegations. 


OF     ABRAHAM     LINCOLN.  93 

Officers  of  the  army  and  navy  occupied  a  prominent 
place  in  the  procession,  all  wearing  crape  upon  their  arms 
and  sword-hilts.  Several  colored  associations  were  also  rep- 
resented, one  of  which  bore  a  banner  with  the  inscription, 
"we   mourn   our  loss." 

Death  had  fastened  into  the  frozen  face  of  the  corpse 
all  the  character  and  idiosyncrasy  of  life.  He  had  not 
changed  one  line  of  his  grave  grotesque  countenance,  nor 
smoothed  out  a  single  feature.  The  hue  was  rather  blood- 
less and  leaden;  but  he  was  always  sallow.  The  dark  eye- 
brows seemed  abruptly  arched ;  the  beard,  which  will  grow 
no  more,  was  shaved  close,  save  the  tuft  at  the  short, 
small  chin.  The  mouth  was  shut,  like  that  of  one  who 
had  put  the  foot  down  firm,  and  so  were  the  eyes,  which 
looked  as  calm  as  slumber.  The  collar  was  short  and 
awkward,  turned  over  the  stiff  elastic  cravat,  and  whatever 
energy  or  humor  or  tender  gravity  marked  the  living  face 
was  hardened  into  pulseless  outline.  No  corpse  in  the 
world  was  better  prejDared  according  to  appearances.  The 
white  satin  around  it  reflected  sufficient  light  upon  the 
face  to  show  us  that  death  was  really  there;  but  there 
were  sweet  roses  and  early  magnolias,  and  the  balmiest  of 
lillies  strewn  around,  as  if  the  flowers  had  begun  to  bloom 
even  upon  his  coffin.  There  was  then  no  blood  in 
the  body;  it  was  drained  by  the  jugular  vein  and  saci'edly 
preserved,  and  through  a  cutting  on  the  inside  of  the  thigh 
the  empty  blood  vessels  were  charged  with  a  chemical 
preparation  which  hardened  to  the  consistence  of  stone. 
The  long  and  bony  body  was  hard  and  stiff,  so  that  it 
could  not  be  moved  any  more  than  the  arms  or  legs  of  a 
etatue.    It  had   undergone    many    changes, 


94  LIFE      AKD      MARTYRDOM 

Close  by  the  corpse  sat  the  relatives  of  tte  deceased; 
plain,  honest,  hardy  people,  typical  as  much  of  the  simplic- 
ity of  our  institutions  as  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  self-made  emi- 
nence. No  blood  relations  of  Mr.  Lincoln  were  to  be 
found.  It  is  a  singular  evidence  of  the  poverty  of  his 
origin,  and  therefore  of  his  exceeding  good  report,  that, 
excepting  his  immediate  family,  none  answei-ing  to  his  name 
could  be  discovered.  Mrs.  Lincoln's  relatives,  '  however, 
were  present  in  some  force.  Dr.  Lyman  Beecher  Todd, 
General  John  B.  S.  Todd,  C.  M.  Smith,  Esq.,  and  Mr.  N. 
"W.  Edwards,  tlie  late  President's  brother-in-law.  Plain, 
self-made  people  were  here  and  were  sincerely  affected. 
Captain  Eobert  Lincoln  sat  during  the  services  with  his  face 
in  his  handkei'chief  weeping  quietly,  and  little  Thad,  his 
face  red  and  heated,  cried  as  if  his  heart  would  break. 
Mrs.  Lincoln,  weak,  worn  and  nervous,  did  not  enter  the 
east  room  nor  follow  the  remains.  She  was  the  chief  mag- 
istrate's wife  the  day  before ;  then  a  widow  bearing  only 
an  immortal  name.  Among  the  neighbors  of  the  late  Pres- 
ident, who  came  from  afar  to  pay  resj)ect  to  his  remains, 
was  one  old  gentleman  from  Richmond.  He  had  been  hot  in 
wrangle  upon  the  boat  with  some  officers  who  advised  the 
execution  of  all  rebel  leaders.  This  the  old  man  opposed, 
when  the  feeling  against  him  became  so  intense  that  he 
was  compelled  to  retire.  He  counselled  mei'cy,  good  faith 
and  forgiveness.  That  day  the  men  who  had  called  him 
a  traitor,  saw  him  among  the  family  mourners,  bent  with 
grief.  All  these  were  waiting  in  solemn  lines,  standing 
erect,  with  a  space  of  several  feet  between  them  and  the 
coffin,   and    there  was   no  bustle   nor  unseemly   curiosity. 


OFABRAHAMLINCOLN.  95 

But  the  first  accession  of  force  was  that  of  the  clergy, 
sixty  in  number.  They  were  devout  looking  men,  darkly 
attired,  coming  from  all  the  neighboring  cities  to  repre- 
sent every  denomination.  Five  years  ago  these  were  wrang- 
ling over  slavery  as  a  theological  question,  and  at  the  be- 
ginning of  the  war  it  was  hard,  in  many  of  their  bodies, 
to  carry  loyal  resolutions.  Then  there  were  there  such 
sincere  mourners,  as  Eobert  Pattison,  of  the  Methodist 
church,  who  passed  much  of  his  life  among  slaves  and 
masters.  He  and  the  rest  had  come  to  believe  that  the 
President  was  wise  and  right,  and  follow  him  to  his  grave, 
as  the  apostles  did  the  interred  on  calvary.  All  these  retired 
to  the  south  end  of  the  room,  facing  the  feet  of  the 
corpse,  and  stood  there  silently  waiting  for  the  coming  of 
others.  Very  soon  this  east  room  was  filled  with  the  rep- 
resentative intelligence  of  the  entire  nation.  The  governors 
of  States  stood  on  the  dais  next  to  the  head  of  the  cof- 
fin, with  the  various  features  of  Curtin,  Brough,  Fenton, 
Stone,  Oglesby  and  Ingi-aham.  Behind  them  were  the 
Mayors  and  Councilmen  of  many  towns  paying  their  last 
respects  to  the  representative  of  the  source  of  all  munici- 
pal freedom.  To  their  left  were  the  corporate  oflScers  of 
Washington. 

Still  further  down  the  steps  and  closer  to  the  catafalque 
rested  the  manly  features  of  Augur,  whose  blood  has  trick- 
led forth  upon  the  field  of  battle ;  the  open,  almost  beard- 
less contour  of  Halleck,  who  has  often  talked  of  sieges 
and  campaigns  with  that  homely  gentleman  who  was  going 
to  the  grave.  There  were  many  more  bright  stars  twink- 
ling in  contiguous  shoulder  bars,  but  sitting  in  a  chair 
7 


96  LIFEANDMARTTRDOM 

upon  the  beflowered  carpet  was  Ulysses  Grant,  who  has 
lived  a  century  in  the  previous  three  weeks,  and  came 
that  day  to  add  the  lustre  of  his  iron  face  to  that  thrill- 
ing and  saddened  picture.  He  wore  white  gloves  and 
sash,  and  was  swarthy,  nervous  and  almost  tearful,  his  feet 
crossed,  his  square,  receding  head  turning  now  here,  now 
there,  his  treble  constellation  blazing  upon  the  left  shoul- 
der only,  but  hidden  on  the  right,  and  one  could  read 
upon  his  compact  features  the  indurate  and  obstinate  will 
to  fight,  on  the  line  he  has  selected,  the  honor  of  tha 
country  through  any  peril,  as  if  he  had  sworn  it  by  the 
slain  man's  bier,  his  state-fellow,  patron  and  friend.  Here 
also  was  the  thin  haired,  conical  head  of  Farragut,  close 
by  General  Grant,  with  many  naval  heroes  close  behind, 
storm  beaten,  and  every  inch  Americans  in  thought  and 
physiognomy. 

But  nearer  down,  and  just  opposite  the  catafalque,  so  that 
it  was  perpendicular  to  the  direction  of  vision,  stood  the  cen- 
tral powers  of  our  Government — its  President  and  counsellors. 
President  Johnson  facing  the  middle  of  the  coffin,  upon  the 
lowest  step.  His  hands  were  crossed  upon  his  breast,  his 
dark  clothing  just  revealing  his  plaited  shirt,  and  upon  his 
full,  plethoric,  shaven  face,  broad  and  severely  compact,  two 
telling  grey  eyes  rested  under  a  thoughtful  brow,  whose  turn- 
ing hair  is  straight  and  smooth.  Beside  him  were  Vice-Pres- 
ident Hamlin,  whom  he  succeeded ;  and  ex-Governor  King, 
his  most  intimate  friend,  who  lends  to  the  ruling  severity  of 
the  place  a  half  Falstaffian  episode.  The  Cabinet  were  be- 
hind, as  if  arranged  for  a  daguerreotypist.  Stanton,  short 
and  quicksilvery,  in  long  goatee  and   glasses,  in  stunted  con- 


OF     ABRAHAM    LINCOLN.  97 

trast  to  the  tall  and  snow-tipped  shape  of  Mr.  Wells.  "With 
the  rest,  practical  and  attentive,  and  at  their  side,  was  Sec- 
retary Chase,  high,  dignified  and  handsome,  with  folded 
arms,  listening,  but  undemonsti'ative,  a  half  foot  higher  than 
any  spectator,  and  dividing  with  Charles  Sumner,  who  was 
near  by,  the  preference  for  manly  beauty  in  age.  With  Mr. 
Chase  were  other  justices  of  the  Supreme  Court,  and  to  their 
left,  near  the  feet  of  the  corpse,  were  the  revered  Senators, 
representing  the  oldest  and  newest  States — splendid  faces,  a 
little  worn  with  earlier  and  later  toils,  backed  up  by  the 
high,  classic  features  of  Col.  Forney.  Beyond,  were  the  re- 
presentatives and  leading  officials  of  the  various  departments, 
with  a  few  odd  folks,  like  George  Francis  Tl*ain,  exquisite  as 
ever,  and,  for  this  time  only,  with  nothing  to  say — not  a 
whisper,  not  a  footfall — only  the  collected  nation  looked  with 
awed  hearts  upon  eminent  death. 

At  12:10  amid  profound  silence,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Gurley  ap- 
proached the  head  of  the  catafalque,  announced  the  order  of 
the  religious  service,  when  Dr.  Hall,  Episcopalian,  read  a 
portion  of  the  Scriptures,  according  to  the  form  of  that 
Church. 

THE  OPENING  PRAYER. 

The  opening  prayer  was  made  by  Bishop  Simpson,  Metho- 
dist Episcopalian,  who  in  the  course  of  it,  said  that  in  the 
hands  of  God  were  the  issues  of  life  and  death.  Our  sins 
had  called  for  his  wrath  to  descend  upon  us  as  individuals, 
and  as  a  community.  For  the  sake  of  our  Blessed  Redeemer, 
forgiveness  was  asked  for  all  our  transgressions,  and  that  all 
our  iniquities  may    be    washed  away,  while    we    bow    under 


98  LIFEANDMARTTRDOM 

this  sad  bereavement  which  has  caused  a  wide  spread  gloom 
not  only  in  this  circle  but  over  the  entire  land,  an  invoca- 
tion was  made  that  all  might   submit  to  God's  holy  will. 

Thanks  were  returned  for  the  gift  of  such  a  man  as  our 
Heavenly  Father  had  just  taken  from  us,  and  for  th^  many 
virtues  which  distinguished  all  his  transactions ;  for  the  in- 
tegrity, honesty  and  transparency  of  character  bestowed  upon 
him,  and  for  having  given  him  counselors  to  guide  our  na- 
tion through  periods  of  unprecedent  sorrow.  He  was  per- 
mitted to  live  to  behold  the  breaking  of  the  clouds  which 
overhung  our  national  sky,  and  the  disentegration  of  the 
Rebellion.  Going  up  the  mount  he  beheld  the  land  of 
promise,  with  its  beauty  and  happiness  and  the  glorious 
destiny  reserved  for  us  as  a  nation.  Thanks  were  also  re- 
turned that  his  arm  was  strengthened  and  wisdom  and 
firmness  given  to  his  heart  to  pen  a  declaration  of  Eman- 
cipation, by  which  were  broken  the  chains  of  millions  of 
the  human  race.  God  be  thanked  that  the  assassin  who 
struck  down  the  Chief  Magistrate  had  not  the  hand  to 
again  bind  the  suffering  and  oppressed.  The  name  of  the 
beloved  dead  would  ever  be  identified  with  all  that  is 
great  and  glorious  with  humanity  on  earth.  God  grant 
that  all  who  stand  here  intrusted  with  the  administration 
of  public  affairs,  may  have  the  power,  strength  and  wisdom 
to  complete  the  jvork  of  his  servant  so  gloriously  begun  ; 
and  may  the  successor  of  the  deceased  President  not  bear 
the  sword  in  vain.  God  grant  that  strength  may  be  given 
to  him  and  to  our  military  to  perfect  victory  and  to  com- 
plete the  contest  now  nearly  closed.  May  the  spirit  of  re- 
bellion  soon   pass  away.     May   the   last    vestige    of   Slavery, 


OFABRAHAMLINCOLN.  99 

which  caused  the  Eebellion,  be  driven  from  our  land, 
God  grant  that  the  sun  may  shine  on  a  free  people,  from 
the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific,  and  from  the  lakes  to  the 
Gulf.  May  he  not  only  safely  lead  us  through  the  strug- 
gle, but  give  us  peace  with  all  nations  of  the  earth  ;  give 
us  hearts  to  deal  justly  with  them,  and  give  them  hearts 
to  deal  justly  with  us,  so  that  universal  peace  may  reign 
on  earth.  We  raise  our  hearts  to  Thee  to  plead  that  Thy 
blessing  may  descend  on  the  family  of  the  deceased.  God 
bless  the  weeping  widow  in  her  broken-heartedness ;  she 
bows  under  a  sad  stroke,  more  than  she  can  bear.  En- 
circle her  in  thine  own  arms.  God  be  graciously  with  the 
children  left  behind  him.  Endow  his  sons  with  wisdom. 
From  on  high  endow  them  with  great  usefulness.  May 
they  appreciate  the  patriotic  example  and  virtues  of  their 
Father,  and  walk  in  his  footsteps.  We  pray  Thee,  the 
Bishop  said,  to  make  the  assassination  of  jjersonal  profit 
to  our  hearts,  while  by  the  remains  of  the  deceased,  whom 
we  had  called  a  friend.  Do  Thou  grant  us  grace  and  re- 
pentance of  our  sins,  so  that  at  the  end  of  life  we  may 
be  gathered  where  assassins  are  not  found,  where  sorrow 
and  sickness  never  come,  but  all  gather  in  peace  and  love 
around  the  Father's  throne  and  glory.  We  pray  Thee 
that  our  Kepublic  may  be  made  the  stronger  for  this 
blow,  while  here  we  pledge  ourselves  to  set  our  faces  as  a 
flint  against  every  form  of  opposition  which  may  rise  up 
for  its  destruction;  so  that  we,  the  children,  may  enjoy 
the  blessed  advantages  of  a  Government  delivered  from  our 
fathers.     He   concluded    by   repeating   the   Lord's   Prayer. 


100  LIFE     AND     MARTYnOOM 

DR.  GUR  LEY'S  SERMON. 
The  Rev.  Dr.  Gurley  Presbyterian,  and  the  President's  own 
pastor,  then  delivered  a  sermon,  standing  on  the  step  near 
the  head  of  the  coffin.  He  commenced  by  saying,  we  recog- 
nize and  adore  the  sovereignty  of  Almighty  God.  •  His  throne 
is  in  the  Heavens,  and  His  Kingdom  ruleth  over  all.  It 
was  a  cruel  hand — the  dark  hand  of  the  assassin — thai 
smote  our  honored,  wise  and  noble  President,  and  filled  th* 
land  with  mourning.  But  above  this  hand  there  is  anothet 
which  we  must  see  and  acknowledge.  It  is  the  chastening 
hand  of  a  wise  and  faithful  God.  He  gives  us  the  bittei 
cup.  We  yield  to  the  behest  and  drink  the  draught.  Thia 
chastisement  comes  in  a  way  heavy  and  mysteriously  deep 
at  a  time  when  the  Rebellion  is  passing  away.  The  occa. 
sion  has  stricken  down  a  man  upon  whom  the  people  had 
learned  to  trust  and  upon  whom,  more  than  any  other,  they 
had  centered  their  hopes  for  a  restoration  of  union  and  re- 
turn of  harmony.  In  the  midst  of  our  rejoicing  we  needed 
this  stroke,  this  discipline,  and  therefore  God  has  sent  it. 
Our  affliction  has  not  come  forth  from  the  dust  nor  from 
the  ground.  Beyond  the  act  of  assassinatipn  let  us  look  to 
God,  whose  prerogative  is  to  bring  light  out  of  darkness  and 
good  out  of  evil.  He  who  has  led  us  so  well  and  prosper- 
ed us  so  wonderfully  during  the  last  four  years  of  anxiety 
and  conflict,  will  not  forsake  us  now.  He  may  chasten  but 
will  not  destroy.  He  may  purify  us  in  the  furnace,  but  will 
not  consume  us.  Let  our  principle  anxiety  now  be  that  this 
new  sorrow  may  be  a  sanctified  sorrow,  and  induce  us  to 
give  all  we  have  to  the  cause  of  truth,  justice,  law,  order, 
liberty    and   good  government,   and   pure  and  undefiled   religion. 


OP     ABRAHAM      LINCOLN.  101 

Thougli  weeping  may  endure  for  a  night,  joy  cometh  in  the 
morning.  Thank  God  that  in  spite  of  this  temporary  dark 
ness  the  morning*  has  began  to  dawn,  the  morning  of  a 
brighter  day  than  our  country  has  ever  before  seen.  That 
day  will  come,  and  the  death  of  a  hundred  Presidents  and 
Cabinets  cannot  prevent  it.  The  people  confided  in  the  late 
lamented  President  with  a  firm,  and  loving  confidence  which 
no  other  man  has  enjoyed  since  the  days  of  Washington. 
He  deserved  it  well,  and  deserved  it  all.  He  merited  it  by 
his  character,  by  his  acts,  and  by  the  whole  tenor  and  tone 
and  spirit  of  his  life.  He  was  wise,  simple,  sincere,  plain 
and  honest,  truthful  and  just,  benevolent  and  kind.  His  per- 
ceptions were  quick  and  clear,  his  judgment  was  calm  and 
accurate,  and  his  purposes  were  good  and  pure.  Beyond  a 
question,  always  and  everywhere,  he  aimed  and  endeavored 
to  be  right  and  to  do  right.  His  integrity  was  all  prevad- 
ing,  all  controlling,  and  incorruptible.  He  gave  his  personal 
consideration  to  all  matters,  whether  great  or  small.  How 
firmly  and  well  he  occupied  his  post  and  met  its  grave  de- 
mands in  seasons  of  trial  and  difiiculty  is  known  to  you  all, 
to  the  country  and  the  world.  He  comprehended  all  the  en- 
ormity of  treason  and  rose  to  the  full  dignity  of  the  occa- 
sion. He  saw  his  duty  as  Chief  Magistrate  of  a  great  and 
imperiled  people,  and  leaned  on  the  arm  of  Him  who  giveth 
power  to  the  faint,  and  who  increaseth  strength.  The  Rev. 
Dr.  Gurley,  toward  the  close  of  his  address  said :  I  speak 
what  I  know,  and  testify  what  I  have  often  heard  him  say, 
when  I  affirm  that  guidance  and  mercy  were  the  prop  on 
which  he  humbly  and  habitually  leaned ;  that  they  were  tht 
best    hope     he    had     for    himself     and     his    country.       Hence, 


102  LIFE     AND     JIAKTTRDOM 

when  lie  was  leaving  his  home  in  Illinois,  arid  coming  tc 
the  city  to  take  his  seat  in  the  Executive  chair  of  a  dis- 
turbed and  troubled  nation,  he  said  to  the  old  and  tried 
friends  who  gathered  tearfully  around  him,  and  bade  him 
farewell :  "I  leave  with  this  request,  pray  for  me."  They 
did  pray  for  him,  and  millions  of  others  prayed,  nor  did 
they  pray  in  vain.  Their  prayer  was  heard,  and  the  an- 
swer appears  in  all  his  subsequent  history.  It  shines  forti 
with  heavenly  radience  in  the  whole  course  and  tenor  of  hia 
administration,  from  its  commencement  to  its  close.  God 
raised  him  up  for  a  great  and  glorious  mission,  flirnishej 
him  for  his  work  and  aided  him  in  its  accomplishment. 
Nor  was  it  merely  by  strength  of  mind  and  honesty  of 
heart,  and  purity  and  pertinacity  of  purpose  that  he  furnish, 
ed  him.  In  addition  to  these  things  he  gave  him  a  calm 
and  abiding  confidence  in  the  over-ruling  Providence  of  God, 
and  in  the  ultimate  triumph  of  truth  and  righteousness. 
Through  the  power  and  blessing  of  God  this  confidence 
strengthened  him  in  all  his  hours  of  anxiety  and  toil,  and 
inspired  him  with  calm  and  cheering  hope,  when  others  were 
inclined  to  despondency  and  gloom.  Never  shall  I  forget  the 
emphasis  and  the  deep  emotion  with  which  he  said,  in  this 
very  room,  to  a  company  of  clergymen  and  others  who  call- 
ed to  pay  him  their  respects,  in  the  darkest  days  of  our 
civil    conflict : 

"Gentlemen,  my  hope  of  success  in  this  great  and  terrible  struggle, 
rests  on  that  immutable  foundation — the  justice  and  goodness  of  God; 
and  "when  events  are  very  threatening  and  prospects  very  dark,  I  still 
hope  that  in  some  way,  which  man  cannot  see,  all  will  be  well  in  tha 
end,   because  our  cause  is  just,   and   God  is  on  our  side." 

Such    was    his    sublime    and    holy    faith,    and    it  was   an 


OF    A 


BltliHAM     LINCOLN,  103 


anchor  to  his  so.tf^  both  siire  an(A».Bteadfast;  It  made  him 
firm  and  s^ong.  It  enibbldened  him  in  the  pathway  of 
iuty,  however  rugged  and  perilous  ,it  might  be.  It  made 
dim  valiant  for  the  rischt,  for  the  -cause  of  God  and  hu- 
manity,  and  it  held  him  in  steady,  patient  and  unswerving 
adherance  to  a  policy  of  administration  which  he  thought, 
and  which  we  all  now  think,  both  God  and  humanity  re- 
quired him  to  adopt.  "We  admired  and  loved  him  on  many 
accounts,  for  strong  and  various  reasons.  We  admired  his 
childlike  simplicity,  his  freedom  from  guile  and  deceit, 
his  staunch  and  sterling  integrity,  his  kind  and  forgiving 
temper,  his  industry  and  patience,  his  persistent,  self-sacrific- 
ing devotion  to  all  the  duties  of  his  eminent  position,  from 
the  least  to  the  greatest,  his  readiness  to  hear  and  con- 
sider the  cause  of  the  poor  and  humble,  the  suifering  and 
oppressed,  his  charity  toward  those  who  questioned  the 
correctness  of  his  opinions  and  the  wisdom  of  his  policy  ; 
his  wonderful  skill  in  reconciling  differences  among  the 
friends  of  the  Union,  leading  them  away  from  abstractions 
and  inducing  them  to  work  together  and  harmoniously  for 
the  public  weal ;  his  true  and  enlarged  philanthrophy  that 
knew  no  distinction  of  color  or  race,  but  regarded  all  men 
as  brethren  and  endowed  alike  by  their  Creator  With  cer- 
tain inalienable  rights,  among  which  are  life,  liberty  and 
the  pursuit  of  happiness,  his  inflexible  purpose  that  what 
freedom  had  gained  in  our  terrible  civil  strife  should  never 
be  lost,  and  that  the  end  of  the  war  should  be  the  end 
of  slavery,  and,  as  a  consequence,  of  Rebellion ;  his  readi- 
ness to  spend  and  to  be  spent  for  the  attainment  of  such 
a  triumph — a    triumph    the    fruits     of    which    should    be   as 


104  LIFEAND     MARTYRDOM 


■wide  spreading  'as  the  earth,  and  as  enduring  as  the  sun ; 
all  these  things  commanded  and  T&xed  our  admiration  and 
tlie  admiration  of  the  world,  and  stamped  upon  his  charac- 
ter and  life  the  unmistakable  impress  of  greatness.  But 
more  sublime  than  any  or  all  of  these,  more  holy  and 
influential,  more  beautiful  and  strong  and  sustaining  was  his 
abiding  confidence  in  God  and  the  final  triumph  of  truth 
and  righteousness  through  him  and  for  his  sake.  This  was 
his  noblest  vii-tue,  his  grandest  principle,  the  secret  alike 
of  his  strength,  his  patience  and  his  success.  And  this, 
it  seems  to  me,  after  being  near  him  steadily  and  with 
him  often  for  more  than  four  years,  is  the  principle  by 
which  more  than  by  any  other  '•  he  being  dead  yet  speak- 
eth."  Yes  by  his  steady,  enduring  confidence  in  God  and 
in  the  complete  ultimate  triumph  of  the  cause  of  God, 
which  is  the  cause  of  humanity,  more  than  in  any  other 
way,  does  he  now  speak  to  us,  and  to  the  nation  he  loved 
and  served  so  well.  By  this  he  <  speaks  to  his  successor 
in  office,  and  charges  him  to  have  faith  in  God ;  by  this 
he  speaks  to  the  members  of  his  Cabinet,  the  men  with 
whom  he  counselled  so  often  and  was  associated  with  so 
long,  and  he  charges  them  to  have  faith  in  God;  by  this 
he  speaks  to  all  who  occupy  positions  of  influence  and  au- 
thority in  these  sad  and  troublesome  times,  and  he  charges 
them  all  to  have  faith  in  God;  by  these  he  speaks  to  this 
great  people  as  they  sit  in  sack-cloth  to-day,  and  weep  for 
him  with  a  bitter  wailing  and  refuse  to  be  comforted,  and 
he  charijes  them  to  have  faith  in  God.  And  bv  this  he 
will  speak  through  the  ages,  and  to  all  rulers  and  people 
in  every  land,  and  his  message  to  them  will  be :  "  Cling  to 
liberty   and    right;    battle   for  them ;  bleed   for  them;   die   for 


•  OP     ABRAHAM     LINCOLN.  105 

them,  if  need  be,  and  have  confidence  in  God."  Oh ! 
that  the  voice  of  this  testimony  may  sink  down  into  our 
hearts  to  day  and  every  day,  and  into  the  hearts  of  the 
nation,  and  exert  its  appropriate  influence  upon  our  feel- 
ings, our  faith,  our  patience,  and  our  devotion  to  the  cause 
now  dearer  to  us  than  ever  before,  because  consecrated  by 
the  blood  of  its  most  conspicuous  defender,  its  wisest  and 
most  fondly  trusted  friend.  He  is  dead,  but  the  God  in 
whom  he  trusted  lives,  and  He  can  guide  and  strengthen 
his  successor,  as  He  guided  and  strengthened  him.  He  is 
dead,  but  tlie  memory  of  his  virtues,  of  his  wise  and 
patriotic  councils,  and  the  labors  of  his  calm  and  steady 
faith  in  God  live,  is  precious,  and  will  be  a  power  for 
good  in  the  country  down  to-  the  end  of  time.  He  is 
dead,  but  the  cause  he  so  ardently  loved,  so  ably,  patient- 
ly, faithfully  represented  and  defended,  not  for  himselt 
only,  not  for  us  only,  but  for  all  people  in  all  their  com- 
ing generations,  till  time  shall  be  no  more — that  cause 
survives  his  fall,  and  will  survive  it.  The  light  of  its 
brightening  prospects  flashes  cheeringly  to-day  at  heart. 
The  gloom  occasioned  by  his  death,  and  the  language  of 
God's  united  providences  in  telling  us  that  though  the 
friends  of  liberty  die.  Liberty  itself  is  immortal.  There  is 
no  assassin  strong  enough,  and  no  weapon  deadly  enough 
to  quench  its  inextinguishable  life  or  arrest  its  onward 
march   to   the    conquest   and   empire   of  the  world. 

This  is  our  confidence,  and  this  is  our  consolation  as  we 
meet  and  mourn  to-day.  Though  our  beloved  President  is 
slain,  our  beloved  country  is  saved,  and  some  sing  of 
mercy  as  well  as  of  judgment.  Tears  of  gratitude  mingle 
with  those   of   sorrow,  while   there  is  also    the    dawning    of 


106  LIFE       AND      MARTYRDOM  0 

a  brighter,  happier  day  upon  our  stricken  and  -n-eaiy  lurid. 
God  be  praised  that  our  fallen  chief  lived  long  enough  to 
see  the  day  dawn,  and  the  day-star  of  joy  and  j^eace  arise 
upon  the  nation.  He  saw  it  and  he  was  glad.  Alas  !  alas  I 
He  only  saw  the  dawn.  When  the  sun  has  risen,  full-orbea 
and  glorious,  and  a  haj^py,  reunited  people  are  rejoicing 
in  its  light,  it  will  shine  upon  his  grave,  but  that  grave 
will  be  a  precious  and  a  consecrated  spot.  The  friends  of 
Liberty  and  the  Union  will  repair  to  it  in  years  and  ages 
to  come,  to  pronounce  the  memory  of  its  occupant  blessed, 
and  gathering  from  his  very  ashes,  and  from '  the  rehearsal 
of  his  deeds  and  virtues  fresh  incentives  to  patriotism,  they 
will  there  renew  their  vows  of  fidelity  to  their  country 
and   their   God. 

The  closing  pi*ayer,  by  Dr.  Grey,  Baptist,  was  sonorous 
and  concise.     He   concluded   as    follows : 

"God  of  the  bereaved,  comfort  and  sustain  this  mourning 
family.  Bless  the  new  Chief  Magistrate.  Let  the  mantle  of 
his  predecessor  fall  upon  him.  Bless  the  Secretary  of  State 
and  his  family.  0  God,  if  possible,  according  to  thy  will, 
spare  their  lives  that  they  may  render  still  important  ser- 
vices to  the  country.  Bless  all  members  of  the  Cabinet, 
Endow  them  with  wisdom  from  above.  Bless  the  command- 
ers in  our  army  and  navy,  and  all  the  brave  defenders  of 
the  country.  Give  them  continued  success.  Bless  the  em- 
bassadors from  foreign  courts,  and  give  us  peace  with  the 
nations  of  the  earth.  0  God,  let  treason,  that  has  deluged 
our  land  with  blood,  and  desolated  our  country,  and  be- 
reaved our  homes,  and  filled  them  with  widows  and  orphans, 
which   has    at   lenjith    culminated    in    the    assassination    of  the 


OF     ABRAHAM     LINCOLN.  107 

nation's  chosen  ruler — God  of  justice,  and  the  avenger  of 
the  nation's  wrong,  let  the  work  of  treason  cease,  and  let 
the  guilty  perpetrators  of  this  horrible  crime  be  arrested  and 
brought  to  justice.  O,  hear  the  cry  and  the  prayer,  and  the 
wail  rising  from  the  nation's  smitten  and  crushed  heart,  and 
deliver  us  from  the  power  of  our  enemy,  and  send  speedy 
peace  into  all  our  borders,  through  Jesus  Christ,  our  Lord, 
Amen." 

The  corpse  was  then  removed  to  the  hearse  which  was  in 
front  of  the  Executive  Mansion,  and  at  two  o'clock  the  pro- 
cession was  formed.  It  took  the  line  of  Pennsylvania  avenue. 
The  streets  were  kept  clear  of  all  encumbrances ;  but  the 
eide-walks  were  densely  lined  with  people  from  the  "White 
House  to  the  Capitol,  a  distance  of  a  mile  and  a  half.  The 
roofs,  porticos  and  windows,  and  all  elevated  points  were  oc- 
cupied by  interested  spectators.  As  the  procession  started, 
minute  guns  were  fired  near  St.  John's  Church,  the  City 
Hall  and  the  Capitol.  The  bells  of  all  the  Churches  in  the 
city   and    of  the   various  engine    houses    were    tolled. 

First  in  the  order  of  procession  was  a  detachment  of  col- 
ored troops ;  then  followed  white  regiments  of  infantry,  and 
bodies  of  artillery  and  cavalry,  navy,  marine  and  army  of- 
ficers on  foot;  the  pall-bearers  in  carriages  next;  the  hearse 
drawn  by  six  white  horses,  the  coffin  prominent  to  every  be- 
holder. The  floor  on  which  it  rested  was  strewn  with  ever- 
greens, and  the  coffin  covered  with  white  flowers.  Then  fol- 
lowed the  President  and  Cabinet,  the  diplomatic  corps,  mem- 
bers of  Congress,  Governors  of  States,  the  delegations  from 
various  States,  fire  companies,  civic  associations,  the  clerks  of 
the    various    departments,    and    others,   all    in     order     of    proces- 


108  LIFEANDMARTYRDOM 

sion,    together     with     many    public    and     private     carriages,     all 
closing   up    with    a    large    number    of  colored    men. 

The  nearest  relatives  of  the  late  President's  family  there 
were  the  two  sons  of  the  deceased,  namely:  Captain  Robert 
and  Thaddeus  Lincoln,  N.  W.  Edwards  and  C.  M.  Smith,  of 
Springfield,  brothers-in-law  of  the  late  President,  and  Dr. 
Lyman  B.  Todd,  of  Lexington,  Ky.,  and  General  and  J.  B. 
Todd,    of  Dakota,    cousins    of  Mrs.    Lincoln. 

Mrs.   Lincoln    was    not    present   at   the    funeral.      It   was    said 
she   had    not   even   seen    her   husband's    corpse   since    the   morn 
ing  of  his    death. 

After  the  President's  remains  was  placed  on  the  catafalque, 
in  the  rotunda  of  the  Capitol,  Major  General  Meigs,  Quar- 
termaster General,  remained  until  they  were  taken  in  charge 
by  the  guard  of  honor  detailed  for  the  night  of  the  19th 
and  for  the  20th,  which  was  composed  of  the  following  ar- 
my   officers. 

Brigadier   General  John    P.  Slough, 

Brevet    Brigadier     General     William     Gamble,     commanding     Ist   separate 
Brigade,   22d  Army    Corps,    Fairfax   Court    House. 
Captain    R.    C.    Gale,    A..    A.    G. 
Surgeon    F.   W.    Mead. 
Surgeon   Hard. 

Captain   "Wickersham,    E.    A.   G. 

Captain    H.    C.    Laurence,    A.    Q.    M.  > 

Captain    Brown,   A.   A.   G. 
Lieutenant   Gamble,   A.    D.    C. 
Lieutenant   Pearson,    A.    D.    C. 
Lieutenant   Moore,   A.  D.   C. 

NAVAL     OFFICERS. 

Lieutenant   Commander   Edward   E.   Stone,    Monitor    Moutauk. 
Lieutenant    Commander  A.    Ward    Weaver,    Monitor   Mahopac. 
Lieutenant    N.    H.    Farquhar. 
Lieutenant   A.    R.    McNair. 
Lieutenant  B.  F.    Day. 
Lieutenant    E'.    M.    Shepard. 


OP     ABRAHAM     LINCOLN.  109 

A  detachment  of  the  Twenty-fourth  regiment  Veteran  Re- 
serves did  guard  duty  at  the  entrance  of  the  rotunda  and 
at   the    gates   of  the    Capitol. 

As  soon  as  the  doors  were  thrown  open  on  the  morning 
of  the  20th,  the  throng  of  visitors  began  to  press  forward. 
All  were  required  to  enter  at  the  main  eastern  entrance,  and 
passing  in  two  lines  on  either  side  of  the  catafalque,  to  go 
to  the  western  door  of  the  rotunda.  None  were  permitted 
to  linger.  A  strong  guard  was  placed  across  the  lower 
steps  of  the  eastern  entrance,  and  a  line  of  guards  in  close 
order  on  either  side,  marked  the  avenue  left  for  the  people 
who  desired  to  pass  in.  About  ten  o'clock  a  heavy  rain 
storm  partially  checked  the  crowd :  but,  notwithstanding  the 
rain,  the  long  and  ceaseless  procession  of  saddened  faces 
came  pressing  forward  at  the  rate  of  three  thousand  persons 
per   hour. 

The  catafalque  was  better  arranged  to  afford  a  view  of  the 
features  of  the  honored  dead  than  the  one  at  the  White 
House.  The  features  were  little  changed,  and  by  many  are 
said  to  look  more  natural  than  when  they  lay  in  state  at 
the   White   House. 

The  whole  force  of  the  Capitol  Police,  under  the  direction 
of  Captain  Newman,  clad  in  mourning  habiliments,  were  on 
duty  preserving  order,  and  politely,  but  in  suppressed  tones, 
and  almost  noiseless  steps,  directing  the  movemen's  of  the 
crowd. 

The  rotunda,  which  was  lighted  by  only  a  sort  of  twi- 
light hue,  was  filled  with  solemn  stillness,  unbroken  save  by 
the  rustling  of  the  dresses  of  the  female  mourners,  and  oc- 
asionally    a   deep   sigh    from   some   of   those   passing   the  coffin, 


« 


110  LIFE     AND     MARTYRDOM 

THE    REMAINS    OF    THE    PRESIDENT    EXROUTE    FROM 

WASHINGTON. 

At  6  o'clock  Friday  Morning,  April  21,  the  members  of 
the  Cabinet  and  many  distinguished  individuals  met  at  the 
Kotunda  to  pay  their  last  respects  to  tlie  late  Chief  Magis- 
trate. The  Rev.  Dr.  Gurley  offered  up  a  fervent  prayer, 
and  at  7:-40  the  body  was  placed  in  a  hearse,  and  followed 
to  the  depot  by  Lieut.-Gen.  Grant  and  Staff,  and  Maj.  B. 
B.  French.  Then  came  the  Cabinet,  consisting  of  Secretar- 
ies Stanton,  Welles  and  Usher,  Postmaster-General  Dennison 
^nd  Attorney-General  Speed.  The  carriage  of  President 
Johnson  following  the  carriage  of  Lieut.-Gen.  Grant.  On 
arriving  at  the  depot,  the  coffin  was  placed  in  the  car  assigned. 
At  precisely  eight  o'clock  the  train  started,  all  standing  with 
uncovered  heads  until  the  train  passed  out  of  view.  The 
remains  of  little  Willie  Lincoln,  who  died  in  Washington  Feb- 
ruary,  1862,   accompany  those  of  his  father. 

B  ALTIMORE. 

The  funeral  cortege  arrived  at  the  Cowden  Station  of  the 
JBaltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad  Company,  about  10  o'clock. 
Amid  the  tolling  of  the  city  bells  and  firing  of  minute  guns 
from  the  forts,  a  procession  composed  of  the  military  and 
civic  societies,  under  command  of  Brigadier  General  Lock- 
wood  was  soon  formed.  Provost  Marshal  Col.  Woolley  acting  as 
Grand  Marshal,  and  line  of  march  taken  to  the  Exchange,  where 
the  remains  were  laid  in  state  in  the  Rotunda.  The  catafalque 
was  richly  draped,  and  ornamented  with  silver  stars  and 
fringe.  The  floor  of  the  dais  was  bordered  with  evergieens 
and   choice    flowers.       Upward    of    10,000    persons   viewed    the 


OF    ABRAHAM     LINCOLN.  Ill 

body,  but  double  that  number  were  denied  tlie  coveted  priv- 
ilege, as  when  the  hour  of  2  o'clock,  P.  M.  arrived,  the 
coffin  was  closed  and  the  remains  escorted  by  the  military 
to  the  depot  of  the  Northern  Central  Kailroad.  At  a  few 
minutes  past  3  o'clock  the  funeral  train  was  wending  its  way 
to    Ilarrisburg,   Pa. 

Upon  reaching  the  State  line  at  5J  o'clock,  it  was  found 
that  Gov.  Curtin  had  arrived  from  Ilarrisburg  in  a  special 
train,  accompanied  by  his  Staff.  The  greetings  of  the  Gov- 
ernors of  Pennsylvania  and  Maryland,  was  exceedingly  cordial. 
At  various  places  along  the  road  the  national  banner  was 
displayed,  either  festooned  with  crape  or  bearing  a  black 
border.  The  same  solemnity  of  countenance  was  everywhere  seen, 
and  all  seemed  to  be  profoundly  mournful  spectators  of  the  burial 
cortege.  At  York  the  ladies  asked  permission  to  lay  on 
the  coffin  a  wreath  of  flowers.  The  hand  of  affection  could 
not  have  contributed  a  more  choice  and  delicate  tribute  to 
departed   worth. 

HARRISBURG. 

The  funeral  train  reached  Ilarrisburg  at  8J  o'clock,  Friday 
Evening.  It  was  heavily  raining;  but  notwithstanding  this 
the  streets  were  densely  thronged,  and  a  large  military  escort 
accompanied  the  remains  of  the  President,  to  the  State  House, 
amid  the  sound  of  minute  guns,  where  the  corpse  was  exposed 
to   the   view   of  the   public   until    a   late   hour. 

The   train    left     for     Philadelphia     at     11     o'clock     Saturday 

Mornino-.       Thousands    of  persons     were   sad    witnesses  of    its 

departure.       The   patriotic    daughters   laid   a  wreath    of    flowers 

on   the   President's   coffin.     The  cars  in  quick   succession  passed 

8 


112  LIFE     AND    MARTYRDOM 

country  houses,  workshops  and  settlements,  every  resident 
appearing  to  witness  the  passing  train.  Battle  flags  were 
displayed  everywhere,  banners  were  at  half  mast,  badges 
of  black  were  universal,  and  all  elevated  points,  balconies 
windows,  housetops,  &e.,  were  occupied  by  persons  of  both 
sexes  and  all  conditions,  each  countenance  bespeaking  a  sad 
heart. 

PHILADELPHIA. 

The  train  arrived  at  the  Broad  Street  Station  at  precisely 
half-past  four  o'clock,  on  Saturday  afternoon,  or  two  hours 
earlier  than  the  schedule  of  time  originally  announced,  in 
order  to  afford  more  daylight  for  the  display.  The  military 
both  white  and  black  made  a  fine  display.  The  city  troop 
acted  as  body  guard.  In  the  procession  were  the  Mayor, 
the  City  Councils,  and  other  municipal  authorities,  Federal 
officers,  army  and  navy  ofl3.cers  stationed  in  the  city  and 
neighborhood,  the  Judiciary,  members  of  the  Legislature, 
members  of  Congress,  representatives  of  Foreign  Courts,  and 
numerous  others  of  distinction.  The  firemen  and  every  society, 
institute  and  organization  were  well  represented,  especially  the 
the  Knights  Templars,  the  Odd  Fellows,  and  the  Fenians. 
Many  colored  men  also  appeared  as  members  of  charitable 
and  other  societies,  with  appropriate  badges  and  regalia.  The 
chimes  of  St.  Peter's  and  Christ  Churches  (Episcopal)  were 
responded  to  by  St.  Mary's  (Roman  Catholic)  Church.  The 
procession  occupied  an  hour  and  a  half  in  passing  the  streets 
designated  in  the  programme,  when  the  Old  State  House 
having  been  reached,  the  corpse  was  taken  into  Independence 
Hall,   where  it   was  placed  near  the  bell  which    first   proclaimed 


OF     ABRAHAM     LINCOLN.  113 

the  adoption  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence.  The  Hah 
was  clothed  in  such  a  manner  as  became  the  occasion,  ren- 
dering the  entire  scene  solemnly  imposing.  The  houses  were 
draped  with  mou;-ning.  Ingenuity  was  exhausted  in  showing 
to  the  best  advantage  this  exterior  manifestation  of  grief. 
The  body  of  the  President  was  visited  by  thousands  during 
the   night  on  invitation   tickets  from  the  Select  Councils. 

Before  day  light  lines  were  formed  east  and  west  of  Inde- 
pendence Hall,  passing  in  by  two  stairways  through  the  front 
windows,  and  out  by  the  rear  into  the  Square.  By  10  o'- 
clock these  lines  extended  at  least  three  miles,  from  the 
Delaware  to  the  Schuylkill  Riter,  thousands  occupying  three 
or  four  hours  before  accomplishing  their  object  of  seeing  the 
remains.  Great  numbers  of  women  took  position  in  the  line, 
and  notwithstanding  the  fatigue  of  slow  progress,  effected  their 
object.  Many,  only  giving  up  when  they  fainted,  were  car- 
ried off  by  their  friends.  The  scenes  at  the  hall  were  im- 
pressively solemn,  and  not  a  few  persons  were  affected  to 
tears.  An  old  colored  woman,  65  or  70  years  of  age,  thrilled 
the  spectators  with  her  open  expressions  of  grief.  Gazing  tor 
a  few  moments  on  the  face  of  the  dead,  she  exclaimed,  clasp- 
ino-  her  hands,  while  tears  coursed  down  her  withered  cheeks: 
"Oh,  Abraham  Lincoln !  Oh,  he  is  dead !  he  is  dead !  "  The 
sympathy  and  love  expressed  by  this  poor  woman  found  a 
response  in  every  heart,  and  seemed  to  increase,  if  possible, 
the  general  grief.  It  was  not  until  long  after  midnight  that 
the  coffin-lid  was  replaced,  and  the  face  thus  forever  hid 
from  the  afflicted  citizens.  The  Pbiladelphians  did  everything 
possible  to  show  their  respect  for  the  distinguished  deceased. 
The   countenances    of    the    people    best    express   the   sadness   of 


114  lib's   and   martyrdom 

their  hearts.  The  good  taste  of  the  citizens  of  Philadelphia 
was  displayed  iu  the  mourning  habiliments  of  their  dwellings 
and  places  of  business.  The  ladies  appeared  with  moui'uing 
badges  on  their  left  shoulders,  and  this  custom  was  so  gen- 
eral   that   its   non-observance    was    noticed. 

The   funeral    train    left    at  4    o'clock    Monday    morning    for 
New  York. 

JERSEY    CITY. 

At  10  o'clock  on  Monday  the  vast  crowds,  which  had 
gathered  in  front  of  the  depot  gates,  were  observed  to  surge 
from  side  to  side,  and  immediately  afterward  the  train  moved 
slowly  into  the  depot.  It  consisted  of  nine  handsome  cars. 
The  car  containing  the  coffin  was  large  and  roomy,  black 
paneled,  the  upper  portion  festooned  with  black  merino,  looped 
with  silver  cords,  with  silver  tassels  drooping  below,  the 
whole  surmounted  with  solemn  rows  of  sable  plumes.  All 
heads  were  uncovered  as  the  train  moved  in,  and  a  most 
impressive  silence  prevailed  throughout  the  vast  multitude. 
While  the  train  moved  in,  and  for  several  moments  afterward, 
while  the  remains  were  being  borne  from  the  boat  the  Ger- 
man singers,  of  whom  we  have  already  spoken,  raised  their 
grand  and  solemn  requiem  for  the  dead,  until  the  vaulted 
roof  of  the  great  structure  resounded  to  the  impressive  strains. 
In  the  interval,  the  crowds  in  the  galleries  remained  perfectly 
hushed,  and  that  grand  song  alone  rose  and  fell,  and  swelled 
and  wavered  among  them,  like  the  lament  of  a  mourning 
world. 

The  coffin  inclosing  the  remains  was  slowly  and  carefully 
removed  from  the  car  and  placed  upon  the  stalwart  shoulders 
of  the   guard  which   had   accompanied    it  from   Washington — a 


OFABRAHAM      LINCOLN.  115 

detachment   of  the    Veteran     Reserve    Corps.     The   preliminary 
procession   was  then    formed,    and   proceeded    to    the    boat. 

As  the  imposing  procession  moved  through  the  densely 
crowded  depot  to  the  still  more  crowded  street,  and  thence 
into  the  depot  again,  there  was  a  most  remarkable  silence 
everywhere.  The  roofs  of  the  buildings  and  the  tops  of  cars 
in  the  company's  yards  were  crowded  to  suffocation  ;  the  crowds 
in  the  streets  were  immense,  and  the  same  deeply  respectful 
silence,  the  same  breathless  suspense  prevailed  throughout. 
Not  the  least  touching  feature  in  this  display  was  that  ex- 
hibited by  the  negroes,  of  whom  there  were  a  large  number 
in  the  crowd.  Upon  their  dusky  faces  could  be  seen  the 
traces  of  grief,  which  sprang  from  instinct  rather  than  from 
reason,  a  profound  reverence  which  was  worthy  of  the  study 
of  scholars  learned  in  study  of  character,  and  of  cause  and 
and    effect. 

The  hearse  was  a  very  handsome  one, — a  frame-work  of 
glass,  black  paneled,  inlaid  with  silver  beads,  with  four  nod- 
ding plumes  of  sable  on  either  side.  It  was  drawn  by  six 
handsome  gray  horses.  The  caparisons  and  everything  con- 
nected with  the  hearse  were  simple,  but  appropriate  and 
beautiful.  After  depositing  their  precious  burden  therein,  the 
Guard  of  Honor  marched  as  special  guard  to  the  remains, 
seven  on  each  side — while  the  remainder  of  the  cortege  fol- 
lowed   in    due    order. 

The  ferry  boat  New  York,  which  was  waiting  to  receive 
the  procession,  was  appropriately  decorated  with  flags  and  sym- 
bols of  mourning.  The  bridge  leading  to  the  ferry  was  also 
handsomely  decorated  with  flags  and  steamers,  and  the  inevi- 
table  dead   black. 


116  LIFE      AKD      MARTYRDtM 

After  a  short  delay,  the  whole  party  were  embarked,  and 
the  powerful  steamer  moved  across  the  river  with  hardly  any 
perceptible  vibration,  as  if  it  were  a  thing  of  life  and  con- 
scious of  the  precious  nature  of  its  charge.  The  requiem 
singers  continued  their  solemn  chorus.  From  far  down  the 
Bay  came  the  echoes  of  the  distant  cannon,  and  nearer  still 
they  rang  and  reverberatad  over  the  boat.  Guns  boomed, 
the  requiem  rose  and  fell,  vessels  in  the  harbor  dipped  their 
flags  in  token  of  respect,  and  the  hum  of  the  peopled  piers 
awaiting  to  receive  their  dead  chieftain  could  be  heard  long 
before   the   vessel   touched   the  landing. 

NEW  YORK. 

The  scenes  at  the  foot  of  Desbrosses  street  was  one  never 
to  be  forgotten.  Every  foot  of  ground,  eyery  attainable  perch, 
every  house-roof  was  black,  with  human  forms.  Men  and  boys 
were  perched  on  trees  and  telegraph  poles ;  house-tops  were 
so  covered  with  spectators  that  it  was  a  wonder  that  they 
did  not  fall  in,  and  every  window  appeared  to  contain  a 
dozen  heads  of  eager  spectators.  But  a  strong  force  of  po- 
lice was  on  hand,  and  the  best  of  order  prevailed.  Up  the 
long  open  space,  which  stretched  from  the  gates  of  the  ferry- 
bridge, could  be  seen  a  clear,  broad  lane,  awaiting  the  fu- 
neral cortege.  The  left  hand  hedge  was  the  splendid  front 
of  our  own  7th  Regiment,  as  regularly  formed  as  a  line  of 
palisades,  the  long  line  of  policemen,  on  the  right,  present- 
ing a  no  less  creditable  appearance.  The  arrangements  had 
been  perfected  with  singular  judgment,  and  the  excellent  order 
which  was  everywhere  preserved,  notwithstanding  the  enor- 
mous   crowd,    reflected  great  credit  upon    the  police  authorities. 


OF     ABRAHAM     LINCOLN.  Ill 

Indeed,  we  did  not  witness,  in  the  entire  march,  a  single 
disturbance  of  a  serious  character.  The  equanimity  of  the 
crowd,  as  a  general  thing,  appeared  to  be  equal  to  their  re- 
spect  for    the    departed   President. 

But  little  time  was  lost  iu  preparations  for  the  march  to 
the  City  Hall.  The  hearse  was  first  drawn  out,  the  Seventh 
Regiment  forming  round  it  in  hollow  square.  Four  battalions 
of  policemen,  in  excellent  oi'der  followed,  and  the  remainder 
of  the  procession  came  after  in  the  same  order  we  have  al- 
ready mentioned.  A  portion  of  the  Washington  delegation, 
however — that  comprising  the  General  officers — making  the  re- 
mainder of  tlie  march  in  coaches.  Four  policemen  followed, 
and  the  remainder  of  the  procession  followed  in  the  order 
we   give    above. 

The  appearance  of  the  sidewalks  and  houses,  as  the  pro- 
cession moved  up  Desbrosses  street,  to  the  dull  beat  of  the 
dead    march    from    the    band    in    the    van,   was    most    impressive. 

Every  window  was  full  of  heads,  every  house  was  covered 
with  mourning,  and  the  people  on  the  sidewalks  formed  a 
solid,   scarcely   breathing  wall. 

Turning  slowly  up  Desbrosses  street,  to  Canal  street,  and 
thence  eastward,  the  solemn  procession  swung  down  Broadway, 
to  the  same  funeral  step,  the  dense  crowds  gathering  denser 
as   they    moved,    while   the   most    impressive   silence    prevailed. 

On  the  procession  moved  amid  serried  masses  of  people 
ranged  along  the  sidewalks,  until  it  reached  the  City  Park, 
and  here  words  fail  to  convey  an  adequate  idea  of  the  im- 
pressive scene.  Balconies,  windows,  housetops  and  door-steps, 
were  crowded  with  fashionably  dressed  ladies  and  gentlemen. 
Every   available     post     was    occupied.     Enthusiastic   boys   fixed 


118  LIFE     AND     MARTYRDOM 

themselves  on  railings,  lamp-posts,  &c.,  while  in  the  Park 
many  were  perched  on  boughs  and  branches  of  the  trees  to 
the  manifest  peril  of  life  and  limb.  The  most  perfect  silence 
was  observed,  save  at  times,  when  a  murmur  of  whispered 
grief,  like  the  sound  of  distant  waters,  was  borne  on  the  air. 
Heads  were  uncovered,  and  tearful  eyes  turned  heavenward 
as  the  remains  of  the  martyred  patriot — a  nation's  idol — wore 
borne  past.  The  Astor  House  was  one  mass  of  life,  while 
the  dark  decorations  of  mourning  waved  sadly  and  sullenly 
from  basement  to  roof.  As  the  procession  wheeled  around 
the  lower  end  of  the  Park  the  utmost  eflForts  of  a  large  and 
efficient  force  of  police  could  not  keep  the  crowd  back.  For 
a  few  moments  the  procession  was  broken,  and  outsiders  had 
an  opportunity  of  pushing  onward  to  the  City  Hall  to  get  a 
glimpse  of  the  departed.  Many  were  the  congratulations  on 
this   point. 

Anxious  eyes  looked  out  from  the  windows  in  the  vicini- 
ty, while  the  crowd  surged  to  and  fro  beneath.  Earely  have 
scenes  like  this  been  witnessed.  Death  is  at  all  times  im- 
pressive, but  under  circumstances  like  these  the  feeling  is  too 
intensified  for  language  to  express  it.  The  windows  of  French's 
Hotel  were,  like  all  others,  full  of  anxious,  eager,  pallid 
faces.  Moistened  eyes  rested  on  the  funeral  car  which  bore 
the  last  precious  remains  of  a  people's  choice,  and  as  the 
last  honors  were  paid  to  the  great  departed  a  mournful  si- 
lence pervaded  the  vast  multitude.  Never  did  the  word  of 
command,  "present  arms,"  fall  on  the  ear  with  such  a  choking 
sensation.  In  the  looks  of  those  men  thus  arrayed  there  was 
something  too  deep  for  language,  too  overwhelming  for  out- 
ward   expression. 


OF    ABRAHAM    LINCOLN.  119 

The  City  Hall  is  reached.  The  coffin  is  removed  from  the 
heax-se.  Slowly  and  solemnly,  with  heads  bent  low,  and  look 
of  profound  emotion,  while  the  bright  sunshine  glimmered  on 
brilliant  uniform  and  glittering  sword,  and  waving  flags  almost 
darkened  the  air,  the  coffin  is  borne  onward  by  fourteen 
orderlies  past  the  military  lines  of  the  7th  Regiment  N.  Y. 
S.  N.  Gr.;  past  the  veterans  of  the  war  of  1812  j  past  the 
lines  of  the  Metropolitan  Police  drawn  up  in  hollow  square — 
on,  still  on — up  the  steps  of  the  City  Hall,  where  one  thous- 
and German  singers  were  stationed,  whose  mournful  wail 
floated  high  above  all  other  sounds,  and  was  re-echoed  within 
the  dim  and  solemn  chamber  of  the  Hall,  and  borne  onward 
beyond  the  military  lines  on  the  passing  breeze  to  the  dis- 
tant,   heaving    crowd. 

The  remains  were  hardly  deposited  within  the  Hall  when 
a  column  of  eager  applicants  for  admission  was  formed,  which 
extended  away  through  Chatham  street,  to  nearly  the  Bowery. 
All  races  and  all  colors  were  represented  in  it,  and  we  eer- 
taiuly  never  supposed  that  there  was  so  much  human  patience 
in    the   world. 

The  scene  in  front  of  the  City  Hall  was  very  animated. 
The  long  files  of  policemen  were  placed  in  a  line  running 
from  the  east  to  the  west  gate  of  the  Park,  and  also  on 
Printing-House    square   and    Park-row. 

In  the  Governor's  room  the  decorations  were  beautiful. 
The  portraits  of  the  Governors  and  ex-Mayors  of  New  York 
and  the  various  other  celebrities  were  all  draped  in  the  usual 
form  of  mourning.  At  11  o'clock  about  2,000  members  of 
the  Saengeround,  Liederkranz  and  Arion  Musical  Societies 
marched   in  front  of  the   City  Hall  and  took   their  position  on 


120  LIFE     AND     MARTYRDOM 

the    esplanade,    on    either    side    of    the     main     entrance     to    tho 
building. 

THE    PROCESSION. 

Even  during  all  the  night  before,  preliminaries  for  the 
great  funeral  procession  had  been  going  forward  at  many 
points  in  the  city.  Before  dawn  the  stir  increased.  Almost 
as  soon  as  it  was  light,  the  vast  amount  of  our  great  met- 
ropolitan population  began  to  move  perceptibly  toward  tho 
Badly  magnificent  ceremony  of  the  day.  At  first  many  sol- 
diers, uniformed  and  armed,  or  single  civilians,  in  decent 
black,  were  gathering  to  a  thousand  rendezvous  of  regiment, 
society,  club  or  association,  as  to  centres  of  crystallization 
sprinkled  over  the  extensive  city  map.  And  while  uniform 
and  civic  costume  varied  in  their  respective  many  ways,  two 
universal  marks,  distinguishable,  indeed,  in  almost  every  citi- 
zen, whether  to  be  participant  or  spectator  of  the  sombre 
pageant — the  crape  badge  on  the  arm,  and  the  countenance 
serious  and  often  sad — silently  witnessed  that  the  vast  city 
arose  in  oneness  of  heart  to  offer  a  last  testimony  of  grief 
and  love  at  the  death  of  the  liberator,  the  patriot,  the  hon- 
est  man    and   the  wise   ruler. 

The  procession  formed  in  eight  divisions.  The  first  division 
standing  in  line  for  a  mile  and  three-quarters  on  Broadway 
from  the  Park  to  Fourteenth  street,  could  thus  be  conven- 
iently followed  by  each  of  the  others  in  its  order,  all  cross- 
ing   the    Park    and   wheeling    to    the    right    into    Broadway. 

THE    SPECTATORS. 

As  ihje  time  of  starting  approached,  a  tremendous  crowd 
of    spectators  lined   the   whole   of    the   appointed    route,    stand- 


OF    ABRAHAM    LINCOLN.  121 

nif  often  in  a  dense  human  hedore  twelve  or  fifteen  feet 
deep  along  the  curb-stones.  Another  almost  equally  numerous 
body  occupied  the  steps,  gratings  and  inner  border  of  the 
walk ;  while  all  windows  were  filled  with  men,  women  and 
children — occupancy  being  often  sold  for  money,  and  adver- 
tised by  handbills  posted  up  outside.  Thousands  and  thous- 
ands of  these  lookers  on  were  too  young  to  know  their 
right  hands  from  their  left,  and  were  doubtless  brought  in 
order  that,  in  old  age,  they  might  say  they  saw  the  funeral' 
procession  of  Abraham  Lincoln.  Eaves,  roflfs,  trees,  posts, 
were  edged  or  tipt  or  fructified  with  men  or  women.  Along 
the  middle  of  each  sidewalk  crept  in  either  direction  a  slug- 
gish,   narrow    stream    of    passengers. 

At  1  o'clock,  and  with  prompt  good  faith  the  great  pro- 
cession moved  forward.  The  right  of  the  first  or  military 
division  resting  on  Fourteenth  street,  it  was  of  course  at  that 
point  that   actual    movement   began. 

THE    MILITARY    DIVISION. 

According  to  a  funeral  etiquette,  the  order  of  the  march 
as  well  as  the  position  of  the  soldier's  weapon,  is  reversed, 
and  the  last  instead  of  the  first  brigade  of  a  division,  regi- 
ment of  a  brigade,  &c.,  goes  first.  The  Second  Division  of 
New  York  State  troops  precedes  the  First,  the  Eleventh  Brig- 
ade precedes  the  Fifth,  the  Fifty-second  Regiment  is  before 
the    Forty-seventh,    that    before    the    Twenty-third,    and    so    on. 

Down  the  whole  long  line  of  the  great  thoroughfare,  clear 
to  the  Park,  the  regiments  were  standing  at  ease,  facing 
eastward.  One  after  another,  in  quick  succession,  they  turned 
into  column  of  sections,  and  a  bird's  eye  view  would  show 
the   whole   distance   from   Union   Park   to    the     City    Hall,    one 


122  LIFE    AND    MARTYRDOM 

long  track  of  stony  gray,  bordered  with  the  heavy  black 
masses  along  each  sidewalk,  and  from  end  to  end,  trans- 
versly  striated  with  the  sections,  deliberately  gliding  north- 
ward in  common  time,  the  swords  and  bayonets  sparkling  and 
glinting  in    the    perfect   sunlight. 

THE    FUNERAL   CAR. 

The  Seventh  Regiment  acted  as  guard  of  honor;  and 
within  its  hollow  square,  rolling  slowly  nearer  and  nearer, 
came  the  funei^l  car,  a  gloomy  and  imposing  structure,  its 
heavy  plumes  nodding  to  and  fro.  Before  the  guard  of  honor 
inarched  a  strong  platoon  of  policemen,  sweeping  once  more 
every  inch  of  the  street  from  curb  to  curb.  There  was,  how- 
ever, scarcely  the  least  infringement  of  the  orders  in  this 
matter.  Here  and  there  some  weary  old  lady  or  careless 
boy  sat  down  with  feet  in  the  gutter;  but  the  crowd,  though 
dense  and  massed  to  a  degree  even  far  beyond  that  of  the 
remarkable  occasion  just  after  Inauguration  Day,  kept  heed- 
fully   to   the   sidewalk. 

THE   GUARD   OP    HONOR, 

the  Seventh  Regiment,  Col.  Emmons  Clark,  came  next,  with 
reversed  arms;  its  mathematically  accurate  marching  and 
thoroughly  soldierlike  array  justified  its  employment  in  this 
melancholy    but   honorable    duty. 

The  car  itself  rolled  slowly  and  gloomily  before  us.  Its 
Bixteen  gray  horses  were  shrouded  in  black,  and  led  each  by 
a  colored  groom.  Immediately  about  it  marched  the  faithful 
squad  of  soldiers  of  the  Veteran  Reserves  who  accompanied 
the  remains  from  Washington.  The  car  itself  consisted  of  a 
broad   platform   fourteen   feet   by   eight,   on   which   was  a  stag© 


OP     ABRAHAM     LINCOLN.  123 

or  dais  where  the  coffin  lay.  O.ver  this  was  a  rich  canopy 
upon  four  columns,  having  planted  at  the  foot  of  each  col- 
umn three  national  flags  festooned  and  craped.  Above  the 
four  corners  of  the  canopy  were  four  great  shadowing  and 
waving  masses  of  sable  plumes,  and  at  the  top  was  a  small 
model  of  a  circular  temple,  unwalled,  open,  empty.  Thus— so 
would  teach  this  little  emblem — was  the  nation,  the  home  of 
freedom,  bereft  of  its  representative  man.  Or,  perhips,  thus 
empty  of  its  former  tenant,  w-as  the  body  of  the  dead  the 
temple  of  life.  Within,  the  car  was  lined  with  white  satin, 
and  above  the  coffin  hangs  a  large  eagle,  his  wings  outspread 
as  if  he  hovered  there,  and  carrying  in  his  talons  a  wreath 
of  laurel.  All  around  the  black  draperies  hung  almost  to 
the  earth.  Up  on  the  surface  of  the  dais  and  platform, 
beautiful  white  flowers  were  disposed  in  graceful,  plenteous 
wreaths  and  boquets,  and  the  deep  blackness  of  the  draperies 
is  moreover  somewhat  relieved  by  festoons  and  spangles  of 
silver   bullion. 

THE    CIVILIAN  PROCESSION. 

The  military  portion  of  the  processions  is  thus  concluded, 
with  a  few  small  exceptions.  With  similar  exceptions,  the 
remainder  of  it,  in  place  of  the  rich  efi"ects  of  the  uniforms, 
the  order  of  march,  and  the  glitter  and  gleam  of  weapons, 
presented  a  monotonous,  although  impressive,  column  of  civ- 
ilians, in  black  clothes  and  hats.  In  several  respects  thia 
portion  of  the  procession  was  to  the  thoughtful  observer 
more  significant  than  the  military  part ;  but  it  was  by  virtue 
of  implications  and  associated  ideas,  not  by  considerations  of 
color   and    arrangement. 


124  LIFE     AND    MARTYRDOM 

NATIONALITIES. 

The  numerical  strength  and  watchful  nationality  of  the 
Irish  in  New  York  was  once  more  shown  by  the  fact  that 
one  whole  division,  the  Fifth,  consisted  entirely  of  Irish 
associations — and  a  large  division  it  was.  Among  them 
marched,  as  in  the  Inauguration  procession,  a  number  of 
companies  of  boys,  in  green  blouses,  and  hand  in  hand. 
The   little  fellows   looked   well  and   mai'ched   finely. 

The  athletic  German  turners,  in  their  plain  linen  coats, 
looked   strong,   ready   and   sensible. 

A  long  ax'ray  of  mechanics'  protective  and  provident  as- 
sociations constituted  the  latter  part  of  the  civilians'  pro- 
cession, a  very  few  among  them  here  and  there  showing 
disgracefully   enough,   the   influence   of    liquor. 

The  Brooklyn  delegation  constituted  the  Eighth  Division, 
and  after  it,  bringing  up  the  rear,  with  a  strong  double 
rank  of  policemen  before  and  behind,  came  a  body  of 
about  two  hundred  colored  men.  Part  of  them  were  freed- 
men  recently  from  slavery,  and  these  bore  a  banner  with 
two  inscriptions :  "Abraham  Lincoln  our  Emancipator,"  and 
"  To  Millions  of  Freemen  he  Liberty  gave."  This  was  the 
only  portion  of  the  procession  which  was  received  with  any 
demonstrations  of  applause.  For  them  a  just  and  kindly 
enthusiasm  overrode  the  strict  proprieties  of  the  occasion, 
and  handkerchiefs  waved  and  voices  cheered  all  along  as 
they  marched. 

The  head  of  the  procession  had  reached  the  railroad  sta- 
tion at  2:10.  The  rear  of  it  had  not  reached  Fourteenth 
street  at  5.  It  must  have  contained  full  sixty  thousand 
men.     After  the   delivery   of   the   remains    to    the   charge   ©f 


BOSTON   COBBETT. 


OP     ABRAHAM     LINCOLX.  125 

the  railroad  authorities,  it  was  hours  before  the  rear  of 
the  procession  ceased  inarching.  The  allotted  route  having 
been  passed  over,  the  various  component  parts  quickly  dis- 
persed  to   their  respective   rendezvous. 

The  deep  sobriety  of  this  ceremony  gave  it  a  profound 
and  weighty  character,  far  more  impressive  than  the  festal 
pomp  of  most  pageants.  And  the  wailing  notes  of  the 
dirges  played  by  the  bands  greatly  increased  this  effect. 
The  streets  were  in  remarkably  good  condition.  The  air 
and  sky  were  perfect ;  the  arrangements  for  the  occasion 
very  good  indeed ;  and  in  grandeur  of  form,  as  well  as  in 
ethical  and  political  meaning,  the  great  funeral  pageant 
given  by  the  City  of  New  York  to  the  remains  of  Presi- 
dent  Lincoln   was   entirely   successful. 

THE    CERE3I0NIES    IN    UNION    SQUABE. 

Shortly  after  the  procession  had  passed  through  Ufflion 
Square,  Tuesday  afternoon,  a  meeting  was  held  for  the 
purpose  of  rendering  fitting  testimonials  of  respect  and 
reverence  for  the  character  of  the  late  President,  and  join- 
ing in    appropriate   religious  exercises. 

Facing  the  Maison  Doree,  a  large  stand  had  been  erect- 
ed, with  the  national  colors  draped  in  black,  and  a  bro- 
ken column,  the  design  of  Mr .  Thomas,  round  the  base  of 
which  a  roll  of  black  crape  was  placed.  In  the  square 
opposite  the  Spingler  house  and  to  the  right  of  the  stand, 
was  a  pedestal  beai-ing  a  bust  of  President  Lincoln,  which 
is  said  to  be  a  striking  likeness.  It  was  draped  in  mourn- 
ing, and  attracted  much  attention.  In  front  of  the  stand 
about  two  thousand  persons,  among  whom  were  a  number 
of  ladies,  had  collected,  and  the  windows  and  doorways  of 
9 


126  LIFEANDMARTYRDOM 

the  houses  within  sight  and  hearing  distance  of  the  stand 
were    crowded. 

On  the  stand  Avere  a  large  representation  of  the  clergy, 
and  deputations  from  the  Union,  New  York,  Century, 
Athenffium,  Citj',  Union  League,  Eclectic  and  other  clubs. 
A  number  of  ladies  and  children  were  also  admitted  to 
the   stand,    which   was   most   inconveniently   crowded. 

Hon.  John  A.  King  presided.  The  exercises  were  opened 
with  prayer  by  Rev.  Stephen  H.  Tyng,  during  which  the 
assemblage  remained  uncovered.  After  repeating  that  beau- 
tiful  portion    of    the   burial   service,   commencing 

"  I  am  the  resurrection  and  the  life  saith  the  Lord ;  he 
that  believeth  in  me,  though  he  were  dead,  j^et  shall  he 
live ;  and  whosoever  liveth  and  believeth  in  me  shall  never 
die,"  the  reverend  gentleman  said  :  "  0  God,  in  whose  hands 
is  our  life.  Thou  hast  pleased  in  thine  infinite  wisdom  to 
take  away  the  light  of  our  eyes,  the  desire  of  the  people. 
we  bow  to  thy  decree  with  submission,  and  we  revere 
Thee  as  the  high  and  lofty  One.  Thou  hast  chastened  as 
a  father  chastened  his  children.  We  confess  Thee  as  the 
Savior,  we  acknowledge  the  fulness  of  Thy  power,  we  feel 
a  thankfulness  for  that  Thou  hast  given  and  now  has 
taken  away.  We  bless  Thee  that  Thou  hast  made  him  the 
instrument  of  saving  the  nation,  and  proclaiming  liberty  to 
those  in  bondage.  We  feel  a  deep  sense  of  our  loss,  but 
we  bow  in  humble  thankfulness  for  all  our  blessings.  We 
implore  Thee  to  bless  the  wounded  and  suffering,  the  widow 
and  the  fiitherless ;  we  implore  Thee  to  bless  and  protect 
the  new  President,  and  to  hasten  the  time  when  the  na- 
tion   shall    desire    war   no   more." 


OF     ABRAHAM     LINCOLN.  127 

After  the  prayer,   the   band   played  the   "  Dead   March." 

Hon.  George  Bancroft  then  delivered  a  feeling  oration. 
The  delivery  of  the  oration  was  frequently  interrupted  by 
applause. 

Rev.  Dr.  Joseph  P.  Thompson  was  then  introduced,  and 
read  President  Lincoln's  last  inaugural  address  in  a  very 
impressive   manner 

This  was  followed  by  the  reading,  by  Eev.  W.  H.  Boole, 
of  the  94th  Psalm,  which  was  pronounced  by  the  inspired 
Psalmist   against   the   enemies   of    his   country. 

Rev.  Dr.  Rogers  then  pronounced  an  eloquent  prayer,  in 
which  he  thanked  God  that  our  late  President  had  been 
removed  from  among  us  without  even  a  shadow  on  his 
name,  and  that  a  Joshua  had  been  raised  up  to  replace 
him. 

After  appropriate  music  by  the  band,  Rev.  Rabbi  Isaacs, 
of  the  Broadway  Synagogue,  read  a  selection  from  the 
Scriptures   and   delivered    a   short   prayer. 

Rev.  Dr.  Samuel  Osgood  then  read  the  following  hymn, 
composed  only  a  few  hours  previously,  by  Mr.  W.  C* 
Bryant : 

0,   slow   to   smile   and  swift  to  spare, 

Gentle   and   merciful   and  just, 
"Who    in    the    fear   of    God   did'st  bear 

The  sword   of   power,   the    nation's   trust.   • 

In    sorrow   by    thy    bier   we  stand, 

Amid   the    woe   that   hushes   all, 
And   speak   the    anguish    of    a   land 

That   shook   with   horror   at   thy    fall. 

Thy   task   is  done,   the  bonds   are   free— 

We   bear    thee   to   an    honored   grave, 
Whose    noblest   monument  shall    be 

The   broken   fetters    of    the  slave. 


128  LIFE     AND     MARTYKDOM 

Pure'  was    (hy   life — its    bloody   close 
Hath    placed   thee   with    the    sons   of    light, 

Among    the    noblest   host   of    those 

Who   perished   in    the   cause   of    right. 

Dr.  Osgood  also  read  the  following  compositcn  of  Mr 
Bryant,   which   he   said   had   not  yet  been   published) 

HYMN. 

"Thou   hKst   put   all   thiugs   under   His   feet." 

0    North,   with   all    thy   vales   of    green, 

0   South    with    all   thy   palms, 
From   peopled   towns,   and    fields   between, 

Uplift   the    voice   of    psalms ; 
Raise,    ancient    East,    the   anthem   high, 
And    let   the   youthful    West   reply. 

Lo !    in   the   clouds   of    heaven   appears 

God's   well   beloved   Son ; 
He   briirgs    a   train   of    brighter   years — 

His    Kingdom    is    begun: 
He   comes   a   guilty   world    to   bless 
With   mercy,    truth,   and   righteousness. 

0    Father,    haste   the   promised   hour 

When   at   his    feot   shall    lie 
All  rule,   authority  and    power 

Beneath   the    ample    sky, 
W^hen    He    shall   reign    from    pole   to   pole, 
The    Lord   of    every    human   soul. 

Archbishop  McClosky  being  unavoidably  absent,  the  ben- 
ediction was  pronounced  by  Dr.  Hitchcock,  and  the  assem- 
blage  then   dispersed. 

FROM  NEW  YORK  TO  ALBANY. 
The   coflSn   was   then  removed  to  the   train,  the  assemblage 
not   leaving   until   it   started.     On     the    route     to   Albany   all 
was    in    mourning,   each  place   vieing   with    the  other   in  rich 


OF     ABRAHAM     LINCOLN.  129 

decorations  and  mourning  emblems;  the  people  wore  sad 
faces,  indicative  of  their  sad  hearts.  The  train  duly  arrived 
at  Albany,  where  the  remains  were  exposed  to  view  and 
viewed  by  thousands  of  people  and  thousands  wei-e  disap- 
pointed. 

The  funeral  train  left  Albany  at  4  P.  M.,  Wednesday, 
26th.  It  was  said  that  delegations  from  ten  counties  visited 
Albany  to  view  the  remains..  The  lying  in  state  and  the 
procession  there  had  been  marked  by  all  the  characteris- 
tics which  had  signalized  the  same  in  other  cities.  Special 
trains  had  brought  thousands  from  towns  not  on  the  route 
to  swell  the  population  of  the  city.  The  houses  were  dec- 
orated Avith  fitting  emblems  and  fitting  mottoes.  The  pro- 
cession was  beautifully  ordered  and  very  impressive.  Gov. 
Fenton  and  staff  were  on  foot  immediately  after  the  escort 
which  left  "Washington,  the  latter  in  open  carriages.  At 
Schenectady,  as  always  before,  there  was  a  still  multitude 
with  uncovered  heads.  At  Canajoharie,  the  Palatine  Bridge 
was  clad  in  flags  and  mourning,  and  there  was  firing  of 
guns,  tolling  of  bells,  music  of  bands,  an  assembled  mul- 
titude. A  refreshment  car  accompanied  the  train,  and  sup- 
per was  had  at  St.  Johnsville.  The  first  young  ladies  of 
the  town,  dressed  alike  in  black  skirts  and  white  bodices, 
with  heavy  black  rosettes  upon  the  left  shoulder,  waited 
upon  the  table  and  were  afterward  admitted  to  the  hearse 
car  and  a  view  of  the  coffin.  The  ladies  of  Little  Falls 
placed  fresh  flowers  upon  the  coffin.  At  Herkimer  blazing 
torches  showed  the  train  in  a  bright  light  to  an  immense 
company,  who  spolvc  not  a  word,  but  let  him  pass  on  in 
his    glory.     Multip'.ied     thousands,     made    wierd    by    torches, 


130  LIFE     AND     MARTTKDOM 

Diet  the  train  at  Iltica,  with  bells  tolling  and  guns  firing. 
It  was  estimated  that  25,000  persons  were  present.  Passing 
Oriskany,  where  the  people  had  kindled  a  large  bonfire, 
the  train  reached  Syracuse  at  11:15  P.  M.  The  depot  and 
other  buildings  were  draped  in  mourning,  and  the  scene 
was  illuminated  with  locomotive  lamps.  A  band  of  music 
played  a  dirge  as  the  train  entered  the  depot,  and  a  choir 
of  100  voices  sang  appropriate  hymns  during  the  stoppage 
of  the  train.  The  crowd  of  citizens  was  immense,  and 
large  delegations  came  in  from  Oswego,  and  the  surround- 
ing towns.  The  train  was  received  by  the  assembled  mul- 
titude with  uncovered  heads,  and  with  every  manifestation 
of  heartfelt  sorrow.  The  way  stations  were  illuminated 
with  torches  and  bonfires.  At  midnight  the  train  reached 
Memphis. 

Thursday,  April  27,  the  remains  passed  through,  Jordon, 
"Weedsport,  Port  Byron,  Savannah,  Clyde,  Lyons,  Newark, 
Palmyra,  and  other  places  where  the  crowds  were  very  large, 
and  the  train  moved  past  the  stations  in  the  light  of  count- 
less bonfires  and  torches,  arriving  at  Eochester  at  3:20  A.  M. 
The  cortage  stopped  10  minutes  at  Rochester.  The  people 
were  abroad  in  full  force.  The  streets  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
stopping  places  were  crowded.  Houses  were  draped  with  the 
usual     emblems    and    draped    flags. 

BUFFALO 
was  reached  at  7  A.  M.  The  procession  was  formed  between  7  and 
8  o'clock,  and  proceeded  toward  St.  James  Hall,  under  a  civil 
and  military  escort,  in  company  with  the  party  which  had 
followed  the  remains  from  Washington.  The  coffin  was 
prominently   in   view    of   the    very     many'    persons      who    lined 


OP    ABRAHAM     LINCOLN.  131 

the  streets  through  which  the  cortage  passed.  The  hearse 
was  heavily  covered  with  black  cloth,  surmounted  with  an 
arched  roof  and  tastefully  trimmed  with  white  satin  and  sil- 
ver lace.  The  body  was  deposited,  beneath  a  crape  canopy 
in  St.  James  Hall,  a  dirge  being  chanted  in  the  mean  time. 
An  elegant  harp  of  choice  white  flowers  was  then  placed  at 
the  head  of  the  coffin,  and  the  public  were  admitted.  The 
throng  was  immense  until  8  P.  M.,  when  the  coffin  was  closed'. 
The  arrangements  generally  were  pronounced  to  be  better 
than  elsewhere    on    the   route.     At   10   P.  M.,    the    train    left  for 

CLEVELAND. 

At  21:10  A.  M ,  Friday,  the  28th,  the  train  arrived  at  Dun- 
kirk. The  chief  feature  at  that  place  was  a  group  of  36 
young  ladies  representing  the  States  of  the  Union.  They 
were  dressed  in  white,  each  with  a  broad  black  scarf  rest- 
ing on  the  shoulder,  and  holding  in  the  hand  a  National 
flag.  The  crowd  here  was  dense.  The  tolling  of  bells,  the 
solemn  music  of  an  instrumental  band,  and  the  firing  of 
minute  guns,  contributed  to  the  interest  of  the  scene.  Pass- 
ing through  Braceton,  which  was  illuminated,  the  train 
reached  Westfield  at  1  A.  M.,  where  a  committee  of  ladies 
brought  in  a  cross  and  wreath  of  flowers :  On  the  cross 
were  the  words :  "Ours  the  cross ;  thine  the  crown."  Soon 
after  the  train  reached  the  state  boundary,  and  General  Dix 
and  staff  took  leave  of  the  funeral  party.  At  Wiskliffe  Gov- 
ernor Brough  and  staff,  of  Ohio,  came  on  board ;  also  Major 
Gen.  Hooker  and  staff.  The  train  arrived  at  Cleveland  at 
7  A.  M.  On  the  lake  side  of  the  city  thousands  of  per- 
sons were  gather-ed  on  the  sloop'ng  green  hillside,  all  hav- 
ing  a  good    view    of    the    train.        High   up    was  seen   an 


l32  LIFE     AND    MARTYRDOM 

arch  with  the  inscription,  "Abraham  Lincoln."  It  was 
draped  in  mourning,  and  the  supports  were  covered  with 
alternate  Btrips  of  black  and  white.  The  body  was  borne 
to  the  park,  where  a  building  had  been  erected  especially 
for  the  reception  of  the  remains.  The  building  was  24  by 
36  feet  in  dimensions,  and  14  feet  high  fi-om  the  ground 
to  the  plate.  The  roof  was  of  pagoda  style,  and  the  raft- 
ers were  covered  with  white  cloth  over  the  centre  of  the 
main  roof,  and  directly  over  the  catafalque  a  second  roof 
was  raised  about  four  feet  and  covered  in  like  manner. 
The  catafiilque  consisted  of  a  raised  dias,  and  was  orna- 
mented with  evergreens  in  the  most  beautiful  manner. 
Silver-fringed  drapery  was  looped  to  the  columns  support- 
ing the  canopy,  the  borders  of  the  cornice  being  illumin- 
ated with  white  roses  and  stars  of  silver.  The  religious 
services,  after  the  remains  had  been  put  on  the  dias,  were 
performed  by  the  Right  Rev.  Bishop  Mcllvaine.  He  read 
a  part  of  the  funeral  service  of  the  Episcopal  Church, 
slightly  altering  the  text  to  suit  the  occasion,  and  moved 
many  of  the  listeners  to  tears.  The  remains  were  then 
exposed  to  jmblic  view.  The  arrangements  were  so  per- 
fect that  every  one  who  desired  to  see  them  had  no  dif- 
ficulty ;  the  number  visiting  them  during  the  day  averaging 
180  per  minute.  At  midnight  on  Friday,  April  29th,  the 
cortege  left  Cleveland,  in  a  heavy  rain,  for  Columbus. 
Notwithstanding  the  storm,  groups  of  people  were  assem- 
bled at  all  the  stations,  many  of  them  bearing  lanterns  in 
their  hands,  in  order  that  the  funeral  train  might  be  plainly 
Been.  The  largest  gathering  was  at  Condingham,  at  which 
^iace    the    buildings    were    handsomely    draped,    guns    fired, 


OF     ABRAHAM     LINCOLN.  133 

and   bells   rung.     At   6   a.  m.   the   train    passed    Eden.      The 
rain   had   ceased   and   the   weather   was   clear. 

COLUMBUS. 
At  7^  A.  M.,  Saturday,  the  20th,  the  cortege  arrived  at 
Columbus.  The  Committee  of  Arrangements  began  at  once 
to  carry  out  the  programme  ■  and  place  the  funeral  i^arty 
in  carriages.  The  procession  was  formed,  the  38th  Ohio' 
Volunteer  Infantry  acting  as  a  military  escort :  then  fol- 
lowed the  officiating  clerg}'-,  pall-bearers  and  others,  on 
each  side  of  the  hearse.  The  Veteran  Reserve  Cor2)s  were 
the  guard  of  honor.  The  rotunda  of  the  Capitol  was 
draped  in  mourning.  The  coffin  was  approached  by  five 
steps.  It  rested  on  a  mound  of  moss,  in  which  were  dot- 
ted the  choicest  flowers.  At  the  head  of  the  coffin 
rested  a  large  floral  wreath,  while  directly  behind  the  lat- 
ter were  flowers  in  glass  and  china  vessels,  contributed  by 
ladies.  At  the  corners  of  the  platform,  on  the  floor,  were 
large  vaces  filled  with  flowers.  The  walls  were  adorned 
with  a  naval  picture  representing  a  scene  in  the  life  of 
Commodore  Perry,  and  with  various  banners  which  had 
been  carried  by  Ohio  troops  during  the  war,  torn  and  rid- 
dled by  bullets  in  many  a  deadly  conflict.  No  confusion 
whatever  was  occasioned  in  entering  and  retiring  fi-om  the 
Capitol,  owing  to  the  admirable  arrangements  ,  and  for  about 
seven  hours  there  was  a  constant  line  of  spectators  passing 
before-  the  remains.  At  8  p.  M.  the  remains  were  again  con- 
reyed  to  the  train,  and  the  funeral  escort  left  for  Indianap- 
olis. Scioto,  Hillard's,  Pleasant  Valley,  Unionville,  Milford, 
Woodstock  and  Vagdenburgh  were  passed,  and  along  the 
road  the  people  appeared  to  the  number  of  thousands,  carry- 


134  LIFK      AND      MARTYRDOM 

ing  torches  and  kindling  bonfires,  to  enable  thera  clearly  to 
see  the  funeral  car.  At  Woodstock  there  was  both  instru- 
mental and  vocal  music,  and  the  tolling  of  bells  and  other 
manifestations  of  mourning.  At  Urbana  the  peojile  were 
congregated  by  thousands.  The  scene  was  lit  up  with  a 
hundred  torches  and  bonfires,  and  the  countenances  of  the 
interested  multitude  were  seen  in  the  lurid  glare.  Guns 
were  fired  and  bells  tolled,  and  there  was  music  from  an 
instrumental  band,  but  the  melody  which  charmed  the  most 
was  from  a  choir  of  both  males  and  females  stationed  upon 
the  platform,  who  sang  a  deeply  impressive  hymn.  At 
Piqua  10,000  persons  were  assembled. 

Between  12  and  1  a.  m.,  Sunday  30th,  the  State  line  was 
passed,  and  the  train  entered  Indiana.  The  weather  was 
cold,  and  the  rain  was  again  falling,  but  there  was  no  di- 
minuation  in  the  crowd  assembled  at  various  points.  At 
Richmond  the  train  passed  under  an  arched  bridge  con- 
structed for  the  purpose  by  the  Air  Line  Railroad.  It  had 
a  span  of  25  feet,  and  was  30  feet  in  height.  The  abut- 
ments were  trimmed  with  evergreens  dotted  with  white 
roses,  and  the  mourning  drapery  in  close  association.  At 
this  point  Gov.  Morton  of  Indiana  came  on  board.  At 
Cambridge  thousands  of  people  were  at  the  depot  and  the 
train  passed  under  an  arch  trimmed  with  evergreens,  sur- 
mounted by  a  female  figure  to  represent  the  Genius  of 
America  weeping.  The  State  of  Indiana  was  plunged  in 
the  depth  of  grief  This  was  shown,  not  by  the  magnificent 
demonstrations  in  the  cities  and  towns,  but  along  the  line 
the  fiirm  houses  were  decorated  with  mourning  and  their  in- 
mates gathered  in   clusters,  and  by  the    light  of  bonfires  and 


OF     ABRAHAM     LINCOLN.  135 

torches  caught  glimjDses  of  the  train    which  was  bearing  from 
their  eight  the  lamented  Chief  Magistrate. 

INDIANAPOLIS. 
The  cortege  arrived  at  Indianapolis    at  7  A.  M.       A  proces- 
sion  was  formed,  and  through  a  throng  of  thousands  of  spec- 
tators   the   body    of   the   dead    President    was    borne     to  the 
State  House.       The  entire  structure   was  beautifully  shrouded 
in   black   and  white    relieved    by  evergreen  garlands,   with  a 
fine  display   of  flags.      The    platform    was    in    the  centre   of 
the  rotunda.     On    this   the  coffin   was   placed,    surrounded  by 
flowers,  while  wreaths  and  floral   crosses  were  laid   upon  the 
lid.     The  remains  were    soon    after    their    arrival  exposed  to 
public  view.     The  city  Councils   of   Louisville    and   Cincinnati 
and  a   delegation   from   Covington,    together    with    Governor 
Bramlette   of  Kentucky,    wei'c   in     the    city    to  take    part   in 
the  funeral  procession.     Thousands   of  persons  from  the   sur- 
rounding   country    thronged    the    city.       The    Sabbath-School 
children  were  the   first    admitted,    then    the    ladies    and  citi- 
zens severally  passed  through  the  hall    from   South  to  North. 
At  midnight  of  Sunday,  the   remains    left    Indianapolis  for 
Chicago.     The  usual    emblems  of    mourning  were  seen  on  the 
roxite.     At  Michigan   City  the  train  passed  beneath  a  number 
of  beautiful  arches  erected   in    memory  of  the    honored     dead. 
Soon   afterward  the    boundry  line    was    passed,    and   the    cor- 
tege entered   Illinois. 

CHICAGO. 
Chicago    was    reached   at  11     o'clock,    A.  m..    May  Ist,    the 
train  having   run   1,500  miles  since    leaving   Washington.     On 
the  previous    night   the  Hon.   Scuyler  Colfax  delivered  an  el- 


136  LIFE     AND     MARTYRDOM 

oquent  funeral  oration  at  Bryan  Hall  to  an  immense  audi- 
ence. Minute  guns  and  tolling  and  chiming  bells,  an- 
nounced the  arrival  of  the  President's  remains.  The  re- 
mains of  the  President  were  conveyed  to  the  Court  House, 
which  was  opened  to  the  public  at  6  o'clock  in  the  after- 
noon, and  remained  open  till  7  o'clock  p.  M.  of  the  next 
day,  thousands  of  persons  crowding  thither  to  see  for  the 
last  time   the  face  of  the   lamented  dead. 

CHICAGO  TO  SPRINGFIELD. 
The  route  to  Springfield  was  one  grand  series  of  bonfires 
burning  at  every  station,  lighting  up  the  darkness,  and  show- 
ing to  advantage  the  train,  as  well  as  the  decorated  stands 
where  stood  the  men  and  women.  Many  places  had  instru- 
mental and  vocal  music,  chanting  dirges  and  performing  re- 
quiems. The  train  reached  Springfield  about  daylight,  where 
an  immense  throng  was  gathered  to  witness  the  reception, 
etc. 

SPRINGFIELD. 

After  placing  the  cofiSn  in  the  hearse,  the  procession  form- 
ed and  proceeded  to  the  Capitol,  which  had  been  highly 
adorned  in  every  part  for  the  occasion.  The  catafalque  was 
built  in  the  Hall  of  Representatives,  which  was  festooned 
with  rich  mourning  drapery,  and  had  plants  and  flowers  dis> 
tributed  in  tasteful  display.  The  canopy,  beautiful  in  it- 
self, was  handsomely  decorated  in  a  style  of  magnificence 
unsurpassed  by  anything  connected  with  the  pageant  from 
Washington  through  all  of  the  cities.  The  ground  and  build- 
ings were  given  in  charge  of  Co.  E,  23d  Regiment  Veteran 
Reserve  Corps.  About  10  o'clock  a.  m..  May  2nd,  the  ar- 
rangements   were    completed    and     the    people    were    admitted. 


OF     ABRAHAM     LINCOLN.  137 

For  twenty  four  hours  the  throng  passed,  even  through  the 
night.  May  3d,  at  11  o'clock,  the  procession  formed  and 
moved  off  toward  Oak  Ridge  Cemetry.  On  the  route  the 
band  played  "Dead  March  in  Saul,"  with  solemn  and  mourn- 
ful effect.  The  gate  of  tbe  cemetry  was  ornamented  with 
evergreens  and  flowers.  The  coffin  being  deposited  in  the 
cemetery,  the  exercises  were  opened  by  Rev.  A.  Hall,  in  an 
appropriate  prayer,  and  a  dirge  followed.  The  Rev.  N.  W. 
Miner  then  read  choice  selections  from  the  books  of  St.  John 
and  St.  Paul;  after  which  Rev.  N.  C.  Hubbard  read  the 
last  inaugural  of  Mr.  Lincoln.  Bishop  Simpson  then  arose 
to  deliver  his  address,  to  which  all  listened  attentively  and 
gravely.     He    commenced   as  follows: 

BISHOP  SIMPSON'S  ADDRESS. 

Fellow-citizens  of  Illinois  and  of  many  parts  of  our  entire 
Union,  near  the  Capital  of  this  large  and  growing  State  of 
Illinois  : 

In  the  midst  of  this  beautiful  grove,  and  at  the  open 
mouth  of  this  vault,  which  has  just  received  the  remains 
of  our  fallen  chieftain,  we  gather  to  pay  a  tribute  of  re- 
spect and  to  drop  the  tears  of  sorrow  around  the  ashes  of 
the  mighty  dead.  A  little  more  than  four  years  ago, 
from  his  plain,  quiet  home  in  yonder  city,  he  started,  receiving 
the  parting  words  of  the  concourse  of  friends  who  gather- 
ed around  him,  and  in  the  midst  of  the  dropping  of  the 
gentle  shower,  he  told  of  the  pangs  of  parting  from  the 
place  where  his  children  had  been  born,  and  his  home  had 
been  made  pleasant  by  early  recollections ;  and  as  he  left, 
he   made  an    earnest  request,   in    the    hearing  of   some   who 


138  LIFE      AND      MARTYRDOM 

are  present  at  this  meeting,  that,  as  he  was  about  to  en- 
ter upon  the  responsibilities  which  he  believed  to  be  greater 
than  any  which  had  fallen  upon  any  man  since  the  days 
of  Washington,  the  people  would  offer  up  prayers  that  God 
would  aid  and  sustain  him  in  the  work  which  they  had 
given  him  to  do.  His  company  left  our  quiet  city,  but  as 
it  went,  snares  were  in  waiting  for  the  Chief  Magistrate. 
Scarcely  did  he  escape  the  dangers  of  the  way,  or  the 
hands  of  the  assassin  as  he  neared  Washington,  and  I  be- 
lieve he  escaped  only  through  the  vigilance  of  officers  and 
the  prayers  of  his  people,  so  that  the  blow  was  suspended 
for  more  than  four  years,  which  was  at  last  permitted, 
through  the  providence  of  God,  to  fall.  How  different  the 
occasion  which  witnessed  his  departure  from  that  which 
witnessed  his  return !  You  expected  to  take  him  by  the 
hand,  to  feel  the  warm  grasp  which  you  had  felt  in  other 
days,  and  to  see  the  tall  form  walking  among  you  which 
you  had  delighted  to  honor  in  years  past.  But  he  was 
never  permitted  to  return  until  he  came  with  lips  mute 
and  silent,  the  frame  encoffined,  and  a  weeping  nation  fol- 
lowed  as   his   mourners. 

Such  a  scene  as  his  return  to  you,  was  never  witnessed 
among  the  events  of  histoiy.  There  have  been  great  pro- 
cessions of  mourners.  There  was  one  for  the  Patriarch 
Jacob,  which  came  up  from  Egypt,  and  the  Egyptians 
wondered  at  the  evidences  of  reverence  and  filial  affection 
which  came  from  the  hearts  of  the  Israelites.  There  was 
mourning  when  Moses  fell  upon  the  heights  of  Pisgah,  and 
vanished  from  human  view.  There  have  been  mournings 
in   the    kingdoms   of     the    earth,   when    Kings    and     Princes 


OP     ABRAHAM     LINCOLN.  139 

have  fallen ;  but  never  was  there  in  the  history  of  man 
such  mourning  as  that  which  has  accompanied  this  funeral 
procession,  and  has  gathered  around  the  mortal  remains  of 
him  who  was  our  loved  one,  and  who  now  sleeps 
among   us. 

If  we  glance  at  the  procession  which  followed  him,  we 
see  how  the  nation  stood  aghast !  Tears  filled  the  eyes  of 
manly,  sun-burnt  faces;  strong  men,  as  they  clasped  the 
hands  of  their  friends,  were  unable  to  find  vent  for  their 
grief  in  words.  Women  and  childi*en  caught  up  the  tid- 
ings as  they  ran  through  the  land,  and  were  melted  into 
tears.  The  nation  stood  still,  and  men  left  their  plows  in 
the  field  and  asked  what  the  end  should  be.  The  hum  of 
manufactories  ceased,  and  the  sound  of  the  hammer  was 
not  heard.  Busy  merchants  closed  their  doors,  and  in 
the  Exchange  gold  passed  no  more  from  hand  to  hand. 
Though  three  weeks  have  passed,  the  nation  has  scarcely 
breathed  easily  yet.  A  mournful  silence  is  abroad  upon 
the  land.  Nor  is  this  mom-ning  confined  to  any  class,  or 
to  any  district  of  country.  Men  of  all  political  parties, 
and  of  all  religious  creeds,  have  united  in  paying  this 
mournful  tribute.  The  Archbishop  of  the  Eoman  Catholic 
Church,  in  New  York,  and  a  Protestant  Minister,  walked 
side  by  side  in  the  sad  procession,  and  a  Jewish  Eabbi 
performed    a   part   of   the   solemn    services. 

There  are  gathered  around  this  tomb  the  representatives 
of  the  army  and  navy.  Senators,  Judges,  Governors,  and 
officers  of  all  the  branches  of  the  Government.  Here,  too, 
are  all  members  of  civic  professions,  with  men  and  women 
from   the    humblest   as   well   the     highest    occupations.     Hero 


140  LIFE    AND     MAKTYKDOM 

and  there,  too,  are  tears  as  sincere  and  warm  as  any  that 
drop,  which  come  from  the  eyes  of  those  whose  kindred 
and  whose  race  have  been  freed  from  their  chains  by  him 
whom  they  moui-n  as  their  deliverer.  Far  more  have  gazed 
on  the  face  of  the  departed  than  ever  looked  upon  the 
face  of  any  other  departed  man.  More  races  have  looked 
on  the  procession  for  1,G00  miles  or  more,  by  night  and 
by  day,  by  sunlight,  dawn,  twilight,  and  by  torchlight, 
than   ever  before    watched   the   pi'ogress   of   a   procession. 

We  ask,  why  this  wonderful  mourning,  this  great  pro- 
cession? I  answer,  first,  a  part  of  the  interest  has 
arisen  from  the  times  in  which  we  live,  and  in  which  he, 
that  has  flxllen,  was  a  pi'incipal  actor.  It  is  a  principle  of 
our  nature  that  feeling  once  excited,  readily  leave  the  ob- 
ject by  which  they  are  excited  lor  some  other  object,  which 
may,  for  the  time  being,  take  possession  of  the  mind. 
Another  principle  is,  that  the  deepest  affections  of  our 
hearts  gather  around  some  human  form,  in  which  are  em- 
bodied the  living  thoughts  and  ideas  of  the  passing  ages. 
If  Ave  look,  then,  at  the  times  we  see  an  age  of  excite- 
ment. For  four  years  the  popular  heart  has  been  stirred 
to  its  utmost  dejiths.  War  had  come  upon  us,  devouring 
families,  separating  nearest  and  dearest  friends,  a  war,  the 
extent  and  magnitude  of  which  no  one  could  estimate;  a 
war  in  which  the  blood  of  brethren  was  shed  by  a  broth- 
er's hand.  A  call  tor  soldiers  was  made  by  this  voice  now 
hushed,  and  all  over  this  land,  from  hill  and  mountain, 
from  plain  and  valley,  there  sprung  up  hundreds  of  thous- 
ands of  bold  hearts,  ready  to  go  forth  and  save  our  na- 
tional   Union. 

The   feeling    of   excitement    was    transferred    next    into    a 


OF     ABRAHAM     LINCOLN.  l41 

feeling  of  deep  grief,  because  of  the  danger  in  which  our 
country  was  placed.  Many  said,  "Is  it  possible  to  save  our 
nation?"  Some  in  our  country,  and  nearly  all  the  leading 
men  in  other  countries,  declared  it  to  be  impossible  to 
maintain  the  Union,  and  many  an  honest  and  patriotic 
heart  wab  deeply  pained  with  apprehensions  of  common 
ruin;  and  many  in  grief,  and  almost  in  despair,  anxiously 
inquired,  "What  shall  the  end  of  these  things  be?  In  ad- 
dition to  this,  wives  had  given  their  husbands,  mothers 
their  sons,  the  pride  and  joy  of  their  hearts.  They  saw 
them  put  on  the  uniform — they  saw  them  take  the  martial 
step,  and  they  tried  to  hide  their  deep  feeling  of  sadness. 
Many  dear  ones  stepped  upon  the  battle-field  never  to  re- 
turn again,  and  there  was  mourning  in  every  mansion  and 
in   every   cabin    in   our  broad  land. 

Then  came  a  feeling  of  deeper  sadness,  as  the  story 
came  of  prisoners  tortui^ed  to  death  or  starved,  through 
the  mandates  of  those  Avho  are  called  the  representatives 
of  chivalry,  or  who  claim  to  be  honorable  ones  of  the 
earth;  and  as  we  read  the  stories  of  frames  attenuated 
and  reduced  to  mere  skeletons,  our  grief  turned  partly  in- 
to horror  and  partly  into  a  cry  for  vengeance.  Then  this 
feeling  was  changed  to  one  of  joy.  There  came  signs  of 
the  end  of  this  rebellion.  We  followed  the  cue  of  our 
glorious  Genei'als.  We  saw  our  army  under  the  command 
of  the  brave  officer  who  is  guiding  this  procession,  climb 
np  the  hights  of  Lookout  Mountain  and  drive  the  rebels 
from  their  strongholds.  Another  brave  General  swept 
through  Georgia,  South  and  North  Carolina,  and  drove  the 
combined  armies  of  the  rebels  before  him,  while  the  hon- 
10 


142  LIFEAN'  DM  ARTY  ROOM 

ored   Lieutenant-General   held   Lee   and    his    followers    in     a 
death-grasp. 

Then  the  tidings  came  that  Richmond  was  evacuated  and 
that  Lee  had  surrendered.  The  bells  rang  merrily  all  over 
the  land.  The  booming  of  cannon  was  heard,  illuminations 
and  torchlight  jjrocessions  manifested  the  general  joy,  and 
families  were  looking  for  the  speedy  return  of  their  loved 
ones  from  the  field  of  battle.  Just  in  the  wildest  joy,  in 
one  hour,  nay,  in  one  moment  the  tidings  thrilled  through- 
out the  land  that  Abraham  Lincoln,  the  best  of  Presidents, 
had  perished  by  the  hands  of  an  assassin,  and  then  all 
that  feeling  which  had  been  gathering  for  four  years  in  the 
form  of  excitement,  grief,  horror,  and  joy,  turned  into  one 
wail  of  woe ;  a  sadness  ines'pressible,  an  anguish  unutter- 
able ;  but  it  was  not  the  times,  merely,  which  caused  the 
mourning.  The  mode  of  his  death  must  be  taken  into  the 
account.  Had  he  died  on  a  bed  of  sickness,  with  kind 
friends  around  him ;  had  the  sweat  of  death  been  wiped 
from  his  brow  by  gentle  hands  while  he  was  yet  conscious  ; 
could  he  have  had  power  to  speak  words  of  affection  to 
his  stricken  widow;  words  of  comfort  to  us,  like  those 
which  we  heard  in  parting,  and  at  Washington,  in  his  in- 
augural, which  shall  now  be  immortal ;  but  it  would  have 
softened  or  assuaged  something  of  the  grief — there  might 
at  least  have  been  preparation  for  the  event.  But  no 
moment  of  warning  was  given  to  him  or  to  us.  He  was 
stricken  down,  too,  when  his  hopes  for  the  end  of  the  re- 
bellion were  bright,  and  the  prospect  of  a  joyous  life  was 
before    him. 

There    was   a    Cabinet    meeting    that  day,    said    to     have    been 


OF    ABRAHAM     LINCOLN.  143 

the  most  cheerful  and  happy  of  any  held  since  the  beginning 
of  the  rebellion.  After  this  meeting  he  talked  with  his 
friends,  and  spoke  of  the  four  years  of  tempest ;  of  the 
storm  being  over ;  and  of  the  four  years  of  pleasure  and 
joy  now  awaiting  him,  as  the  weight  of  care  or  anguish 
would  be  taken  from  his  mind,  and  he  could  have  happy 
days  with  his  family  again.  In  the  midst  of  his  anticipa- 
tions, he  left  his  house  never  to  return  alive.  The  evening 
was  Grood  Friday — the  saddest  day  in  the  whole  calendar  for  the 
Christian  church,  henceforth,  in  this  country  to  be  made  sad- 
der, if  possible,  by  the  memory  of  the  nation's  loss ;  and  so 
filled  with  grief  was  every  Christian  heart,  that  even  all  the 
joyous  thought  of  Easter  Sunday  failed  to  move  the  crush- 
ing sorrow,  under  which  the  true  worshipper  bowed  in  the 
house    of    God. 

But  the  great  cause  of  this  mourning  is  to  be  found  in 
the  man  himself.  Mr.  Lincoln  was  no  ordinary  man,  and  I 
believe  the  conviction  has  been  growing  on  the  nation's  mind, 
as  it  certainly  has  been  on  my  own,  especially  in  the  last 
years  of  his  administration,  that,  by  the  hand  of  God,  he  was 
especially  singled  out  to  guide  our  Government  in  these  troub- 
lous times,  and,  it  seems  to  me,  that  the  hand  of  God  may 
be    traced    in   many    of  the    events    connected    with    his    history. 

First,  then,  I  recognize  this  in  the  physical  education  which 
he  received,  and  which  prepared  him  for  enduring  herculean 
labor,  in  the  toils  of  his  boyhood  and  the  labors  of  his  man- 
hood, God  was  giving  him  an  iron  frame.  Next  to  this  was 
his  identification  with  the  heart  of  the  great  people,  under- 
standing their  feelings,  because  he  was  one  of  them,  and  con^ 
nected   with    them   in    their    movements    and    life.     His    educa- 


144  I,  IFE     AND    MARTTRI>OM 

tion  was  simple  :  a  few  months  spent  in  a  school-house,  which 
gave  him  the  elements  of  education.  lie  read  a  few  books, 
but  mastered  all  he  read.  Bunyan's  Pilgrim's  Progress,  fa- 
bles, and  the  Life  of  Washington,  were  his  favorities.  In 
these  we  recognize  the  works  which  gave  the  bias  to  his 
character,  and  which  partly  molded  his  style.  His  early  life, 
with  its  varied  struggles,  joined  him  indissolubly  to  the  work- 
ing masses,  and  no  elevation  in  society  diminished  his  respect 
for  the  sons  of  toil.  He  knew  what  it  was  to  fell  the  tall 
trees  of  the  forest,  and  to  stem  the  current  of  the  hard 
Mississippi.  His  home  was  in  the  growing  West,  the  heart 
of  the  Republic,  and,  invigorated  by  the  wind  which  swept 
over  its  prairies,  he  learned  lessons  of  self-reliance,  which  sus- 
tained him  in  seasons  of  adversity.  His  genius  was  soon  re- 
cognized, as  true  genius  always  will  be,  and  he  was  placed 
in  the  Legislature  of  his  State.  Already  acquainted  with  the 
principles  of  law,  he  devoted  his  thoughts  to  matters  of  pub- 
lic interest,  and  soon  began  to  be  looked  upon  as  the  com- 
ing   statesman. 

As  early  as  1849  he  presented  resolutions  in  the  Legisla- 
ture, asking  for  emancipation  in  the  District  of  Columbia, 
while,  with  but  rare  exceptions,  the  whole  popular  mind  of 
his  State  was  opposed  to  the  measure.  From  that  hour  he 
was  a  steady  and  uniform  friend  of  humanity,  and  was  pre- 
paring  for    the    conflict   of  later    years. 

You  ask  me  on  what  mental  characteristics  his  greatness 
resteil.  I  answer,  on  a  quick  and  ready  perception  of  facts ; 
on  a  memory  unusually  tenacious  and  retentive ;  and  on  a 
logical  turn  of  mind,  which  followed  sternly  and  unwavering- 
ly every  link  in  the  chain  of  thought,  on  any  subject  which 
he   was   called    on   to    investigate.     I     think     there    have     been 


OF     ABRAHAM     LINCOLX.  143 

minds  more  broad  in  their  character,  more  comprehensive  in 
their  scope;  but  I  doubt  if  ever  there  has  been  a  man  who 
could  follow  step  by  step,  with  logical  power,  the  points 
which  he  desired  to  illustrate.  He  gained  this  power  by  a 
close  study  of  geometry,  and  by  a  determination  to  persevere 
in    the    truth    in    its   relations   and»  simplicity. 

It  is  said  of  him  that  in  childhood,  when  he  had  any 
difficulty  in  listening  to  a  conversation  to  ascertain  what  peo- 
ple meant,  if  he  tried  to  rest,  he  could  not  sleep  until  he 
tried  to  understand  the  precise  points  intended,  and  when  un- 
derstood, to  convey  them  in  a  clearer  manner  to  those  who 
did  not.  Who  that  has  read  his  messages  fails  to  perceive 
the  directness  and  the  simplicity  of  his  style ;  and  this  very 
trait,  which  was  scoffed  at  and  derided  by  opponents,  is  now 
recognized  as  one  of  the  strong  points  of  that  mighty  mind 
which  has  so  powerfully  influenced  the  destiny  of  this  nation, 
and  which  shall  for  ages  to  come  influence  the  destiny  of 
humanity. 

It  is  not,  however,  chiefly  by  his  mental  faculties  that  he 
gained  such  control  over  mankind.  His  moral  power  gave 
him  pre-eminence.  The  convictions  of  men  that  Abraham 
Lincoln  was  an  honest  man,  led  them  to  yield  to  his  guid- 
ance. As  has  been  said  of  Mr.  Cobden,  whom  he  greatly  re- 
spected, he  made  every  man  feel  a  better  sense  of  himself — 
a  recognizement  of  individuality — a  self-relying  power.  They 
saw  in  him  a  man  vt^hom  they  believed  would  do  what  was 
right,  regardless  of  all  consequences.  It  was  the  moral  feel- 
ing vphich  gave  him  the  greatest  hold  on  the  people,  and 
made   his   utterances    almost  oracular. 

When  the  nation  was  angered  by  the  perfidy  of  foreign 
nations   in    allowing  privateers   to   be    fitted    out,    he   uttered  the 


146  LIFE    AND     MARTYRDOM 

Bignificant  expression,  "One  war  at  a  time,"  and  it  stilled 
the  national  heart.  When  his  own  friends  were  divided  aa 
to  what  steps  shou.d  be  taken  as  to  slavery,  that  simple  ut- 
terance, "  I  will  save  the  Union,  if  I  can,  with  slavery ;  but 
if  not  slavery  must  perish  ;  for  the  Union  must  be  preserved" 
— became  the  rallying  word*  Men  felt  the  struggle  was  for 
the  Union,  and  all  other  questions  must  be  subsidiary.  But 
after  all,  by  the  acts  of  a  man  shall  his  fame  be  perpetua- 
ted. Much  praise  is  due  to  the  men  who  aided  him.  He 
called  able  counselors  around  him,  and  able  Generals  into 
the  field — men  who  have  borne  the  sword  as  bravely  as  ever 
any  human  arm  has  borne  it.  He  had  the  aid  of  prayerful 
and  thoughtful  men  every-where,  but  under  his  own  guiding 
hands  the  movements  of  our  land  have  been  conducted.  Turn 
toward  the  different  departments.  We  had  an  unorganized  mi- 
litia, a  mere  skeleton  army,  yet,  under  his  care,  that  army 
has  been  enlarged  into  a  force  which,  for  skill,  intelligence, 
efficiency  and  bravery,  surpasses  any  which  the  world  has 
ever  seen.  Before  its  veterans,  the  face  of  even  the  renowned 
veterans  of  Napoleon  shall  pale.  [Applause.]  And  the  moth- 
ers and  sisters  on  these  hill-sides,  and  all  over  the  land, 
shall  take  to  their  arms  again  braver  men  than  ever  fought 
in  European  wars.  The  reason  is  obvious.  Money,  or  a  de- 
sire for  fame  collected  those  armiee,  or  they  were  rallied  to 
sustain  favorite  thrones  or  dynasties;  but  the  armies,  he  called 
into  being  fought  for  liberty,  for  the  Union,  and  for  the 
right  of  self-government;  and  many  of  them  felt  that  the 
battles  they  won  were  for  humanity  every-where  and  for  all 
time ;  for  I  believe  that  God  has  not  suffered  this  terrible 
rebellion   to    come   upon    our     land     merely    for   a   chastisement 


OF     ABRAHAM     LINCOLK.  147 

to  US,  or  a  lesson  to  our  age.  There  are  moments  which  in- 
volve in  themselves  eternities.  There  are  instants  which  seem 
to  contain  germs  which  shall  develop  and  bioom  forever. 
Such  a  moment  came  in  the  tide  of  time,  to  our  land,  wh^n 
a  question  must  be  settled — the  power  of  affecting  all  the 
earth.  The  contest  was  for  huiuan  freedom,  not  for  this  Re- 
public merely ;  not  for  the  Union  simply,  but  to  decide 
whether  the  people,  as  a  people,  in  their  entire  majesty,  were 
destined  to  be  the  Government,  or  whether  they  were  to  be 
subject    to    tyrants  or    autocrats,    or    to    class    rule    of  any   kind. 

This  is  the  great  question  for  which  we  have  been  fight- 
ins,  and  its  decision  is  at  hand ;  and  the  result  of  the  con- 
test  will  affect  the  ages  to  come.  If  successful,  republics  will 
spread,  in  spite  of  monarchs,  all  over  this  earth.  [Exclama- 
tions   of  "Amen  ;  "  "  Thank    God."] 

I  turn  from  the  army  to  the  navy.  What  was  it  when 
the  war  commenced?  Now  we  have  our  ships  of  war  at 
home  and  abroad  to  guard  privateers  in  foreign  sympathizing 
ports,  as  well  as  to  care  for  every  part  of  our  own  coast. 
They  have  taken  forts  that  military  men  said  could  not  be 
taken ;  and  a  brave  Admiral,  for  the  first  time  in  the  world's 
history,  lashes  himself  to  the  mast,  there  to  remain  as  long 
as  he  had  a  particle  of  skill  or  strength  to  watch  over  hia 
ship  while  it  engaged  in  the  perilous  contest  of  taking  the 
strong    forts    of   the   enemy. 

Then,  again,  I  turn  to  the  Treasury  Department.  Where 
should  the  money  come  from?  Wise  men  predicted  ruin ;  but 
our  national  credit  has  been  maintained  and  our  currency  is 
safer  to-day  than  it  ever  was  before.  Not  only  so,  but  through 
our    national    bonds,    if  properly   used,   we   shall  have   a    perma- 


148  LIFE      AND      MARTYRDOM 

nent  basis  for  currency,  and  an  investment  so  desirable  for 
capitalists  of  other  nations,  that  under  the  laws  of  trade,  I 
believe  the  center  of  exchange  will  be  transferred  from  Eng- 
land  to  the    United   States. 

But  the  great  act  of  the  mighty  chieftain,  on  which  hia 
fame  shall  rest  long  after  his  frame  shall  molder  away,  is 
that  of  giving  fi'eedom  to  a  race.  We  have  all  been 
taught  to  revere  the  sacred  characters.  We  have  thought 
of  Moses,  of  his  power,  and  the  prominence  he  gave  to 
the  moral  law,  and  how  his  name  now  towers  high  among 
the  names  in  heaven,  and  how  he  delivered  three  millions 
of  his  kindred  out  of  bondage ;  and  yet  we  may  assert 
that  Abraham  Lincoln,  by  his  proclamation,  liberated  more 
enslaved  people  than  ever  Moses  set  free,  and  those  not 
of  his  kindred  or  of  his  race.  Such  a  power  or  such  an 
opportunity  has  seldom  been  given  to  man.  When  other 
events  shall  have  been  forgotten  ;  when  the  world  shall 
become  a  net-work  of  republics  ;  when  every  throne  shall 
have  been  swept  from  the  face  of  the  earth ;  when  litera- 
ture shall  enlighten  all  minds ;  when  the  claims  of  human- 
ity shall  be  recognized  everywhere,  this  act  shall  still  be 
conspicuous  on  the  pages  of  history ;  and  we  are  thankful 
that  God  gave  to  Abraham  Lincoln  the  decision  and  wisdom 
and  grace  to  issue  that  proclamation,  which  stands  high 
above  all  other  papers  which  have  been  penned  by  unin- 
spired   men.     [Applause.] 

Abraham  Lincoln  was  a  good  man ;  he  was  known  as 
an  honest,  temperate,  forgiving  man;  a  just  man;  a  man 
of  a  noble  heart  in  every  way.  As  to  his  religious 
experience,   I  cannot   speak    definately,     because     I    was    not 


OF     ABRAHAM    LINCOLN.  149 

privileged   to   know  much   of    his    private    sentiments.       My 
acquaintance   with   him    did   not   give   me   the^  opportunity   to 
hear  him   speak   on    those    topics.       This    I   know,   however' 
he   read   the   Bible   frequently,    loved   it  for    its   great    truths, 
and   profound   teachings ;     and    he   tried   to   be   guided   by   its 
precepts.       He   believed   in    Christ,     the     Saviour    of    sinners, 
and   I   think   he   was   sincerely   trying   to   bring   his   life  into 
the   principles  of  revealed   religion.      Certainly,   if  there  ever 
was   a  man  who   illustrated   some   of    the     principles   of  pure 
religion,    that   man   was  our   departed   President.      Look  over 
all   his   speeches ;    listen   to  his  utterances.      He    never  spoke 
unkindly    of  any   man ;    even    the   rebels   received   no    words 
of  anger   from   him ;    and   the    last   day   illustrated,    in    a  re- 
markable    manner,    his    forgiving    disposition.       A     dispatch 
was  received  that    afternoon,    that    Thompson    and    Tucker 
were   trying   to   make   their    escape    through    Maine,    and    it 
was  proposed   to   arrest  them.        Mr.    Lincoln,   however,    pre- 
ferred,  rather   to   let  them  quietly  escape.       He  was  seeking 
to  save  the   very  men  who  had  been  plotting  his  destruction, 
and   this   morning   we    read   a   proclamation    oifering    $25,000 
for     the     arrest   of   these    men,    as    aiders    and    abettors    of 
assassination.       So   that   in   his    expiring  acts  he  was   saying, 
"Father,   forgive   them;    they    know    not   what   they   do." 

To  the  address  of  a  large  religious  body  he  replied  ; 
*'  Thanks  be  unto  God,  who,  in  our  national  trials,  giveth 
us  th«  churches."  To  a  minister  who  said  "he  hoped  the 
Lord  was  on  our  side,"  he  replied  that  it  gave  him  no  concern 
whether  the  Lord  was  on  our  side  or  not,  "for"  he  added 
"  I  know  the  Lord  is  always  on  the  side  of  right";  and 
with  deep   feeling   added,  "  but   God    is    my   witness    that    it 


150  LIFE     AND     MARTYRDOM 

is   my   constant   anxiety     and  prayer    that    both    myself    and 
this    nation    should   be  on    the    Lord's   side." 

As  a  rule,  I  doubt  if  any  President  has  ever  shown  such 
a  trust  in  God,  or  in  jiublic  documents  so  frequently 
referred  to  Divine  aid.  Often  did  he  remark  to  friends 
and  to  delegations  that  his  hope  for  our  success  rested  in 
his  conviction  that  God  would  bless  our  efforts,  because 
we   were  trying   to   do    right. 

In  his  domestic  life  he  was  exceedingly  kind  and  affec 
tionate.  He  was  a  devoted  husband  and  father.  During 
his  Presidential  term  he  lost  his  second  son,  Willie.  To 
an  officer  of  the  army  he  said  not  long  since :  "  Do  you 
ever  find  yourself  talking  with  the  dead?"  and  added — 
"  Since  Willie's  death,  I  catch  myself  every  day  involun- 
tarily   talking   with   him   as   if  he   were   with   me." 

On  his  widow,  who  is  unable  to  be  here,  I  need  only 
invoke  the  blessing  of  Almighty  God,  that  she  may  be 
comforted  and  sustained.  For  his  son,  who  has  witnessed 
the  exercises  of  this  hour,  all  that  I  can  desire  is  that  the 
mantle  of  his  father  may  fall  upon  him.  [Exclamations  of 
"Amen."] 

Let  us  pause  a  moment  on  the  lesson  of  the  hour  before 
we  part.  This  man,  though  he  fell  by  an  assassin,  still 
fell  under  the  permissive  hand  of  God.  He  had  some 
wise  purpose  in  allowing  him  so  to  fall.  What  more 
could  he  have  desired  of  life  to  himself?  Were  not  his 
honors  full  ?  There  was  no  office  to  which  he  could  aspire. 
The  popular  heart  clung  around  him  as  around  no  other 
man.  The  nations  of  the  world  had  learned  to  honor 
our   Chief    Magistrate.        If   rumors   of   a    desired    alliance    with 


OP    ABRAHAM    LINCOLN.  151 

England  be  true,  Napoleon  trembled  when  he  heard  of  the 
fall  of  Richmond,  and  asked  what  nation  would  join  him  to 
protect   him  against    our    Government. 

Besides,  the  guidance  of  such  a  man,  his  fame,  was  full  ; 
his  work  was  done,  and  he  sealed  his  glory  by  becoming  the 
nation's    great   martyr    for    liberty. 

He  appears  to  have  had  a  strange  presentiment  early  in 
his  political  life  that  some  day  he  would  be  President.  You 
see  it  indicated  in  1839.  Of  the  slave  power  he  said :  "  Broken 
by  it  I  too  may  be;  bow  to  it  I  never  will.  The  probability 
that  we  may  fail  in  this  struggle,  ought  not  to  deter  us 
irom  the  support  of  a  cause  which  we  deem  to  be  just.  It 
shall  not  deter  me.  If  ever  I  feel  the  soul  within  me 
elevate  and  expand  to  those  dimensions  not  wholly  unworthy 
of  its  Almighty  architect,  it  is  when  I  contemplate  the  cause 
of  my  country.  Deserted  by  all  the  world  beside,  and 
standing  up  boldly  and  alone,  and  hurling  defiance  at  her 
victorious  oppressors ;  here,  without  contemplating  consequences, 
before  high  heaved  and  in  the  face  of  the  world,  I  swear 
eternal  fidelity  to  the  just  cause,  as  I  deem  it,  of  the  land 
of  my  life,  my  liberty,  and  my  love."  And  yet  secretly  he 
said  to  more  than  one,  "  I  never  shall  live  out  the  four  years 
of  my  term.  When  the  rebellion  is  crushed,  my  work  is 
done."  So  it  was.  He  lived  to  see  the  last  battle  fought, 
and  to  dictate  a  dispatch  from  the  home  of  Jeflferson  Davis ; 
lived  till  the  power  of  the  rebellion  was  broken,  and  then, 
having  done  the  work  for  which  God  had  sent  him,  angels, 
I  trust,  were  sent  to  shield  him  from  one  moment  of  pain 
or  suffering,  and  to  bear  him  from  this  world  to  that  high 
and  glorious  realm  where  the  patriot  and  the  good  shall  live 
forever. 


152  LIFE     AND     HARTTRDOH 

His  example  teaches  young  men  that  every  position  of 
eminence  is  open  before  the  diligent  and  the  worthy,  to  the 
ictive  men  of  the  country.  His  example  urges  the  country 
to    trust   in   God    and    do    right. 

Standing  as  we  do  to-day,  by  his  coffin  and  sepulcher,  let 
us  resolve  to  carry  forward  the  policy  which  he  so  nobly 
began.  Let  us  do  right  to  all  men.  Let  us  vow,  in  the 
sight  of  Heaven,  eradicate  every  vestige  of  huuiau  slavery . 
to  give  every  human  being  his  true  position  before  God  and 
man ;  to  crush  every  form  of  rebellion,  and  to  stand  by  the 
flag  which  God  has  given  us.  How  joyful  that  it  floated 
over  a  part  of  every  State  before  Mr.  Lincoln's  career  was 
ended. 

How  singular  that,  to  the  fact  of  the  assassin's  heel  being 
caught  in  the  folds  of  the  flag,  we  are  probably  indebted 
for  his  capture.  The  flag  and  the  traitor  must  ever  be 
enemies. 

Traitors  will  probably  suffer  by  the  change  of  rulers,  for 
one  of  sterner  mold,  and  who  himself  has  deeply  suffered 
from   the   rebellion,   now   wields  the    sword   of   justice. 

Our  country,  too,  is  stronger  for  the  trial.  A  republic 
was  declared  by  monarchists  to  weak  to  endure  a  civil  war. 
Yet  we  have  crushed  the  most  gigantic  rebellion  in  history, 
and  have  grown  in  strength  and  population  every  year  of 
the  struggle.  We  have  passed  through  the  ordeal  of  a  pop- 
ular election,  while  swords  and  bayonets  were  in  the  field, 
and   have   come   out  unharmed. 

And  now  in  an  hour  of  excitement,  with  a  large  minority 
having  preferred  another  man  for  President,  the  bullet  of 
the  assassin  has  laid  our  President  prostrate.  Has  there  been 
a   mutiny?     Has    any   rival   proposed   his    claims?     Out   of   an 


OP     ABRAHAM     LINCOLN.  153 

army  of  near  a  million,  no  officer  or  soldier  uttered  ono 
note  of  dissent ;  and  in  an  hour  or  two  after  Mr.  Lincoln's 
death,  another  leader,  with  constitutional  powers,  occupied  his 
chair,  and  the  Government  moved  forward  without  a  single 
jar.  The  world  will  learn  that  republics  are  the  strongest 
governments    on    earth. 

To  the  ambitious  there  is  this  fearful  lesson :  Of  the  four 
candidates  for  Presidential  honors  in  18G0,  two  of  them 
Douglas  and  Lincoln,  once  competitors — but  now  sleeping  pa- 
triots— rest  from  their  labors ;  Bell  perished  in  poverty  and 
misery,  as  a  traitor  might  perish,  and  Breckinridge  is  a 
frightened    fugitive,    with  the    brand    of    traitor    on    his   brow. 

And  now,  my  friends,  in  the  words  of  the  departed,  "With 
malice  toward  none ;''  free  from  all  feeling  of  personal  ven- 
geance, yet  believing  the  sword  must  not  be  borne  in  vain, 
let  us  go  forward,  even  in  painful  duty.  Let  every  man 
who  was  a  Senator,  or  Representative  in  Congress,  and  who 
aided  in  beginning  this  rebellion,  and  thus  led  to  the  slaugh- 
ter of  our  sons  and  daughters,  be  brought  to  speedy  and  to 
certain  punishment.  Let  every  officer  educated  at  public  ex- 
pense, and  who,  having  been  advanced  to  position  has  per- 
jured himself,  and  has  turned  his  sword  against  the  vitals  of 
his  country,  be  doomed  to  a  felon's  death.  This,  I  believe, 
is  the  will  of  the  American  people.  Men  may  attempt  to 
compromise  and  to  restore  these  traitors  and  murderers  to 
society  again,  but  the  American  people  will  rise  in  their 
majesty  and  sweep  all  such  compromises  and  compromisers 
away,  and  shall  declare  that  there  shall  be  no  peace  to 
rebels. 

But   to    the    deluded  masses  we  shall   extend  arms  of  forgive- 
ness.    We    will   take   them    to    our   hearts.     We  will   walk  with 


154  LIFE     AND     MARTYRDOM 

tliera  side  by  side,  as  we  go  forward  to  work  out  a  glorious 
destiny.  The  time  will  come  when,  in  the  beautiful  words  of 
him  whose  lips  are  now  forever  sealed,  "  the  mystic  cords 
of  memory,  which  stretch  from  every  battle-field  and  from 
every  patriot's  grave  shall  yield  a  sweeter  music  when  touch- 
ed   by   the    angels    of    our    better    nature." 

The  closing  prayer  was  offered  up  by  Dr.  Harkey.  Next 
in  continuation  was  the  requiem,  "Peace,  troubled  soul,"  the 
benediction  by  Dr.  P.  D.  Gurley,  the  President's  former  pas- 
tor, and  last  of  all,  a  funeral  hymn,  composed  by  Dr.  Gur- 
ley  for  the    occasion,   and   the  doxology : 

Rest,  noble  martyr  I    rest  in   peace; 

Rest   with   the   true   and   brave, 
Who,   like   thee,    fell   in    Freedom's    cause, 

The   Nation's   life   to   save. 

Thy   name   shall   live   while   time   endures. 

And   men   shall   say   of  thee, 
"He   saved   his   country    from   its   foes, 

And   bade   the   slave   be   free." 

These   deeds    shall   be   thy    monument, 

Better  than   brass   or   stone  j 
They    leave   thy    fame  in   glory's   light, 

UnriTal'd   and   alone. 

This   consecrated    spot   shall    be 

To    Freedom    ever   dear ; 
And   Freedom's   sons   of    every    race 

Shall   weep   and   worship   here, 

0    God  I    before   whom   we,    in   tears. 

Our    fallen    Chief    deplore, 
Grant   that    the   cause,    for   which   he   died. 

May   live   for   evermore. 

DOXOLOGY. 

To   Father,    Son,   and   Holy  Ghost, 

The   God    whom    we   adore. 
Be   glory    as    it   was,    is   now. 
And   shall   be   evermore. 


REMINISCENCES    AND    INCIDENTS. 


MR.    LINCOLN    AND   JOHN    E.   Mc  DONOUGH,  THE  ACTO  R. 

In  an  address  delivered  on  the  24th  of  April  hy  Hon.  W. 
D.  Kelly  before  the  Girls'  High  and  Normal  School  of 
Philadelphia,  the  speaker  referred  to  a  number  of  interesting 
incidents  in  the  life  and  character  of  Mr.  Ijincoln,  and  among 
other  things  spoke  of  an  interview  betv^een  Mr.  Lincoln  and 
the  well-known  actor,  John  E.  McDonough.  Mr.  Kelly  thus 
describes    this    meeting : 

On  a  very  rainy  night  during  the  session  of  Congress  pre- 
ceding the  last,  I  found  at  my  room  Rev.  Benjamin  R.  Mil- 
ler, Chaplain  of  the  118th  Pennsylvania  Volunteers,  and  Mr. 
John  E.  McDonough,  the  actor,  who  was  on  the  next  night 
to  begin  playing  in  Washington  his  extravaganza  of  the 
"Seven  Sisters,"  by  which  he  had  done  considerable  in  pro- 
moting patriotic  feeling  among  the  young  people  in  the  coun- 
try. Duty  and  pleasure  prompted  me  to  give  the  evening  to 
them  in  some  way,  and  I  felt  that  I  might  do  good  to 
them,  perhaps  to  myself — perhaps  to  my  country,  too — by 
taking  them  to  see  our  good  President.  I  proposed  that  we 
should  go ;  they  readily  assented,  and  we  started  at  once  for 
the    White   House.     We   found     Mr.   Lincoln     alone ;     and,     on 

[155] 


156  LIFE    AND    MARTYRDOM 

entering,  I  said  to  him  that  we  had  come  to  trouble  him 
professionally,  and  probably  to  perplex  him  somewhat,  as  we 
represented  three  professions — the  law,  divinity  and  the  histrionic 
profession.  I  introduced  my  friend  Miller  as  the  reverend 
chaplain,  and  Mr.  McDonough  as  "Mrs.  Pluto,"  the  name  of 
the    character    he    sustained    in    th(3   extravaganza. 

"  Well,"  said  the  President,  "  pray  tell  me,  how  do  your 
chaplain  and  'Mrs.  Pluto'  get  along  together?  I  should  think 
there  might  be  some  discord  in  a  family  made  up  of  such 
materials." 

They  were  soon  seated,  at  his  bidding,  and,  after  a  few 
words  to  the  chaplain,  who  had  come  from  the  field,  he 
turned    to    Mr.  McDonough    and    said: — 

"I  am  very  glad  to  see  you,  sir,  for  I  want  to  learn  some- 
thing of  Shakespeare.  I  don't  get  much  time  to  study  his 
writings,  and  I  want  to  put  some  questions  to  you  that  I 
put  to  Mr.  Hackett.  I  will  tell  you,  frankly,  that  Mr.  Ilack- 
ett's  replies,  on  one  or  two  of  the  points,  were  very  unsatis- 
factory to  me ;  they  almost  impressed  me  with  a  doubt  as  to 
whether  he  studies  Shakespeare  thoroughly,  or  only  the  acting 
plays." 

Pulsing  from  his  seat,  he  went  to  a  shelf,  and  took  down 
his  volumes  of  Shakespeare.  Having  found  the  passage,  in 
"Henry  "IV."  about  which  he  desired  to  inquire,  he  read 
a  portion  of  it,  and  said  to  Mr.  McDonough,  "  Can  you  tell 
me  why  that  is  omitted  from  the  acting  play?  There  is 
nothing  in  all  Shakespeare — certainly  nothing  in  'Henry  IV.' 
or  the  '  Merry  Wives  of  Windsor' — that  equals  it  in  wit  and 
humor."  Mr.  McDonough  gave  him  what  he  believed  to  be 
his    reasons — those    which   were    conclusive   with    him. 


OP     ABRAHAM     LINCOLN.  157 

The  President  said: — "Those  are  more  satisfactory  than  Mr. 
Hackett's  reasons,  but  they  do  not  entirely  satisfy  me."  Then 
turning  to  my  friend  Mr.  Miller,  he  said: — "  Probably  you 
do  not  know  that  the  acting  plays  are  not  the  plays  as 
Shakespeare  wrote  them.  '  Richard  III.,'  for  instance,  begins 
with  passages  from  'Henry  VI.; '  then  you  get  a  portion  of 
'Richard  III.;'  then  more  of  'Henry  VI.;'  and  then  there 
is  one  of  the  best  known  soliloques,  which  is  not  Shakes- 
peare's at  all,  but  was  written  by  quite  another  man — by 
Colley   Gibber — was   it  not,    Mr.    McDonough? " 

Branching  off  from  Shakespeare,  Mr.  Lincoln  cited  brief 
passages  from  Byron,  Rogers,  Campbell,  Moore,  and  I  think 
a  short  one  from  Shelley,  always  running  a  'parallel  between 
the  passage  he  quoted  and  some  passage  or  scene  in  Shake- 
speare. Finally  he  said: — "  But  there  is  a  great  deal  of  very 
fine  poetry  floating  about  anonymously.  There  is  one  poem 
that  is  almost  continually  pi'esent  with  me ;  it  crosses  my 
mind  whenever  I  have  relief  from  thought  and  care."  He  then 
recited  some  verses  of  the  poem,  which  Mr.  Carpenter  was  for- 
tunate enough    to    indite    from    his    lips: — 

OH,    WHT    SHOULD    THE    SPIRIT    OF    MORTAL    BE    PROUD. 
Oh,    why   should    the   spirit   of  mortal   be   proud  ? 
Like   a  swift,  fleeting   meteor,    a   fast  flying   cloud, 
A   flash   of  tho   lightning,   a   break   of  the    wave, 
He   passeth   from   life   to   his   rest   in  the  grave. 

The  leaves  of  the  oak  and   the  willow  shall  fade, 

Be   scattered   around   and   together  be    laid ; 

And   the   young   and   the   old,   and   the   low   and   the   high, 

Shall   moulder  to   dust  and   together   shall  lie. 

The  infant  a  mother  attended  and  loved, 
The   mother   that   infant's   aflection   who   proved ; 
The  husband   that   mother    and   infant   who   blessed. 
Each,   all,  are  away  to  their  dwellings  of  rest. 
11 


158  LIFE     AND    MARTYRDOM 

The  hand  of  the   king  that  the  sceptre  hath  home; 
The   brow   of  the  priest  that   the   mitre   hath   worn  ; 
The   eye   of  the    sage   and   the  heart  of  the   brave, 
Are   hidden   and   lost  in    the   depth  of  the   grave. 

The   peasant,    whose   lot   was    to   sow   and   to   reap ; 
The   herdsman    who   climbed    with    his    goats    up    the   steep ; 
The   beggar,   who  wandered   in    search  of  his   bread, 
Have   faded    away    like   the   grass    that   we    tread. 

So    the   multitude    goes,   like    the    flower   or   the   weed, 
That   withers  away   to  let   others   succeed ; 
So   the   multitude   come^   even    those   we   behold. 
To   repeat   everj'    tale    that   has   often    been    told. 

', : ' 

For  we  are   the   same  that   our    fathers   have  been  : 

.  V 
We   see   the   same  sights  that   our    father's  have   seen. 

We   drink   the   same   stream   and   view   the   same   sun, 

And  run     the   same   course  our   fathers   have    run. 

The   thoughts   we    are     thinking     our   fathers   would   think ; 
From   the   death   we   are   shrinking  our  fathers    would   shrink ; 
To   the  life   we  are   clinging    they  also   Will   cling;  S.--- 

But   it   speeds    for  us   all,  like   a  bird   on    the   wing. 

They   loved,   but  the   story   we   cannot   unfold ; 
They  scorned,    but   the  heart    of  the   haughty    is   cold ; 
They   grieved,   but   no  wail  from  their   slumber    will  come ; 
They  joyed,    but   the   tongue   of  their  gladness   is  dumb. 

They    died,  ay !    they    died ;    we   things    that   are   now, 

That   walk   on   the   turf  that   lies  over   their   brow. 

And  make    in    their    dwellings   a  transient   abode, 

Meet   the   things   that   they   met   on  their   pilgrimage  road. 

Yea  1   hope   and   despondency,   pleasure   and  pain. 
We  mingle   together  in  sunshine    and   rain  ; 
And   the   smile   and   the  tear,   the    song    and   the    dirge, 
Still   follow   each  other,   like   surge   upon   surge. 

'Tis  the   wink   of  an  eye,    'tis    the   draft  of  a  breath  ; 
From    ttie   blossom  of  health  to   the    paleness    of  death, 
From   the   gilded   saloon   to   the  bier   and   the   shroud, 
Oh,   why   should   the   spirit   of  mortal   be   proud? 

"Now,"    said    he,    "I    do    not   know    where    there   is   anything 

truer,     more     touching,     more    rhythmical    than      that :     and    1 


OF    ABRAHAM    LINCOLN.  159 

wish  that  if  any  of  ycfu  should  chance  at  any  time  to  learn 
the  name  of  the  author,  you  would  let  me  know  it.  I  have 
known  the  poem  for  years,  but  I  have  never  been  able  to 
learn  who  wrote  it,  and  I  want  to  regard  him  by  name  as 
a  friend."  Do  you  mark  why  he  wanted  to  know  the  author? 
He  wanted  to  know  the  name  that  he  might  love  the  in- 
dividual who  had  given  him  so  much  pleasure.  When  we 
parted    from   him,   he    said : 

"Gentlemen,  I  am  deeply  grateful  to  you  for  this  visit. 
The  heavy  rain  that  has  kept^  other  visitors  away  has  been 
a  comfort  to  me.  Since  I  became  a  candidate  for  the  Presi- 
dency, I  have  not  enjoyed  two  consecutive  hours  of  conversa- 
tion on  literature  until  to-night,  and  I  feel  so  refreshed  that 
if  I   could   only   hope  to   have    the   time;  I  would    beg  you   to 


come    soon    again. 


MR.    COLFAX  ON  MR.  LINCOLN. 

In  the  memorial  addresses,  delivered  in  Chicago,  on  the 
character  of  Abraham  Lincoln,  Mr.  Colfax,  of  Indiana,  re- 
lated   of  the    late    President    the    following : 

One  morning,  over  two  years  ago,  calling  upon  him  on 
business,  I  found  him  looking  more  than  usually  pale  and 
careworn,  and  inquired  the  reason.  He  replied  that  the  bad 
news  he  had  received  at  a  late  hour  the  previous  night, 
which  had  not  yet  been  communicated  to  the  press,  adding 
that  he  had  not  closed  his  eyes  or  breakfasted ;  and;  with  an 
expression  I  never  shall  forget,  he  exclaimed ;  "How  willing- 
ly would  I  exchange  places  to-day,  with  the  soldier  who 
sleeps    on    the   ground   in    the    Army    of  the    Potomac." 

No  one  could  ever  convince  the  President  that  he  was  in 
danger   of     violent     death.       Judging    others     by    himself,     he 


160  LIFE    AND    MARTYRDOM 

oould  not  realize  that  any  one  could  seek  his  blood.  Or  he 
may  have  believed  as  Napoleon  wrote  to  Jerome,  that  no 
public  man  could  eiFectually  shield  himself  from  the  danger 
of  assassination.  Easier  of  access  to  the  public  at  large 
than  had  been  any  of  his  predecessors,  admitting  his  bit- 
terest enemies  to  his  reception  rooms,  alone  ;  restive  under 
the  cavalry  escort  which  Secretary  Stanton  insisted  should 
accompany  him  last  summer,  in  his  daily  journeys  between 
the  White  House  and  his  summer  residence,  at  the  Soldier's 
Home,  several  miles  from  Washington,  at  a  time,  too,  as 
since  ascertained  in  the  details  of  this  long  organized  plot, 
discovered  since  his  death,  when  it  was  intended  to  gag  and 
hand-cuff  him,  and  to  carry  him  to  the  rebel  capitol  as  a 
hostage  for  their  recognition ;  sometimes  escaping  from  their 
escort,  by  anticipating  their  usual  hour  of  attendance ;  walk- 
ing about  the  gardens  unattended ;  he  could  not  be  persuad- 
ed that  he  ran  any  risk  whatever.  Being  at  City  Point  af- 
ter the  evacuation  of  Kichmond,  he  determined  to  go  thither, 
not  from  idle  curiosity,  but  to  see  if  he  could  not  do  some- 
thing to  stop  the  effusion  of  blood,  and  hasten  the  peace 
for   which   he    longed. 

The  ever  watchful  Secretary  of  War  hearing  of  it,  im- 
plored him,  by  telegraph,  not  to  go,  and  warned  him  that 
some  lurking  assassin  might  take  his  life.  But,  armed  with 
his  good  intentions — alas,  how  feeble  a  shield  they  proved 
against  the  death-blow  afterward — he  went,  walked  fearlessly 
and  carelessly  through  the  streets — met  and  conferred  with  a 
rebel  leader,  who  had  remained  there ;  and  when  he  returned 
to  City  Point,  telegraphed  to  his  faithful  friend  and  consti- 
tutional  adviser,    who   till   then   had   feared,   as   we   all    did    at 


OP    ABRAHAM    LINCOLN.  161 

that  time,  for  his  life,  "I  received  your  dispatch  last  night, 
went  to  Richmond  this  morning,  and  have  just  returned — 
Abraham  Lincoln."  When  I  told  him,  on  that  last  night, 
how  uneasy  all  had  been  at  his  going,  he  replied,  pleasantly 
and  with  a  smile,  (I  quote  his  exact  words):  "  Why  if  any 
one  else  had  been  President  and  gone  to  Eichmond,  I  would 
have  oeen  alarmed  too;  but  I  was  not  scared  about  myself 
a  bit."  If  any  of  you  have  ever  been  at  Washington,  you 
will  remember  the  foot-path  lined  and  embowered  with  trees 
leading  from  the  back  door  of  the  War  Department  to  the 
White  House.  One  night  and  but  recently,  too,  when  in  his 
anxiety  for  news  from  the  army,  he  had  been  with  the  Sec- 
retary in  the  telegraph  oJfice  of  the  department,  he  was 
starting  home  at  a  late  hour  by  this  short  route.  Mr.  Stan- 
ton stopped  him  and  said,  "You  ought  not  to  go  that  way ; 
i..  is  dangerous  for  you  even  in  the  daytime,  but  worse  at 
night."  Mr.  Lincoln  replied,  "  I  don't  believe  there's  any 
danger  there,  day  or  night."  Mr.  Stanton  replied  solemnly, 
"Well,  Mr.  President,  you  shall  not  be  killed  returning  that  way 
from  my  department  while  I  am  in  it ;  you  must  let  me  take 
you  round  by  the  avenue  in  my  carriage."  And  Mr.  Lin- 
coln joining  the  Secretary  on  his  imperious  military  ordeta 
and  his  needless  alarm  on  his  account,  as  he  called  it,  en- 
tered the  carriage  and  was  driven  by  the  well-lighted  avenue 
to    the   White    House. 


162  LIFE      AND      MARTYRDOM 

r 
ABRAHAM  LINCOLN— AN  ODE. 

A  noble  poem,  by  R.  H.  Stoddard,  entitled  "Abraham  Lin- 
coln, an  Oration  Ode,"  has  just  been  published  in  New  York. 
The  following  stanzas  describe  the  funeral  procession  through 
the    States,    and   are   worthy    the    great   occasion : 

Peace  1  Let  the  long  procession  come 

For  hark  ! — the  mournful  mufflled  drum — 

The  trumpet's  wail  afar — 

And  see  I  the  awful  Car  1 

Peace  I  Let  the  sad  procession  go, 
While  cannon  boom,  and  bells  toll  slow; 

And  go,  thou  sacred  Car, 

Bearing  our  Woe  afar  1 

Go,  darkly  borne,  from  State  to  State, 
Whose,  loyal,  sorrowing  cities  wait 

To  honor  all  they  can 

The  dust  of  that  Good  Man  1 

Go,  grandly  borne,  with  such  a  train 
As  greatest  kings  might  die  to  gain  ; 

The  Just,  the  Wise,  the  Brave 

Attend  thee  to  the  grave  ! 

And  you,  the  soldiers  of  our  wars, 
Bronzed  veterans,  grim  with  noble  scars, 

Salute  him  once  again. 

Your  late  Commander — slain  I 

Yes,  let  your  tears,  indignant,  fall. 
But  leave  your  muskets  on  the  wall  ; 

Your  Country  need^  you  now 

Beside  the  forge,  the  plow  I 

(When  Justice  shall  unsheath  her  brand — 
If  Mercy  may  not  stay  her  hand, 

Nor  would  we  have  it  so — 

Site  must  direct  the  blow)  1 


f^. 


OP     ABRAHAM    LINCOLN.  163 

So  sweetly,  sadly,  sternly  goes  * 

The  Fallen  to  his  last  repose ; 

Beneath  no  mighty  dome 

But  in  his  modest  Home  I 

The  church-yard  where  his  children  rest. 
The  quiet  spot  that  suits  him  best ; 

There  shall  his  grave  be  made, 

And  there  his  bones  be  laid  1 

And  there  his  countrymen  shall  come, 
With  memory  proud,  with  pity  dumb, 

And  strangers  far  and  near, 

For  many  and  many  a  year  t 

For  many  a  year,  and  many  an  age. 
While  History  on  her  ample  page, 

The  virtues  shall  enroll 

Of  that  Paternal  Soul. 


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